EXCLUSIVE: Number Of Retail Traders Remains 'Quite High,' Nasdaq's Brandon Tepper Says

The COVID-19 pandemic brought an influx of new retail traders to the public stock markets.

Post-pandemic, many of the retail traders are sticking around. Nasdaq NDAQ senior vice president and global head of data Brandon Tepper recognized this trend.

"We've actually seen a huge rise in activity through the pandemic," Tepper told Benzinga at the 2023 Benzinga Fintech Deal Day and Awards.

While the number of new retail traders has leveled off, the total number remains "quite high," he added. "Those retail investors have remained, they're active."

Retail traders spent their extra time during the pandemic getting educated about the stock market.

At the Nasdaq, the company uses data to help tell the story of how much retail traders are trading stocks, Tepper added. Items like new retail brokers popping up, new tools being added for traders and M&A in the space show the strength of the retail trader remains strong.

Related Link: Nasdaq SVP Brandon Tepper Is Driving Innovation In The Financial Data World

AI Growth: One of the top storylines for 2023 has been the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and various use cases.

Tepper said that a lot of firms are working in AI and the performance has been good.

Nasdaq is doing a lot with AI in its own right. "We use it a lot on the business versus the product," Tepper said.

The Nasdaq sees AI as a tool that can help with automation on items like marketing and customer service. The company is also exploring ways AI can help with more content and tools for clients.

Read Next: NASDAQ’s AI Push To Meet Evolving Data Demands From Traders

Image: Courtesy of Nasdaq