Group 1 - Retail investors have been actively buying U.S. stocks this year, investing over $30 billion since April 2, despite professional fund managers seeking safety [1][4] - The strategy of "buying the dip" is popular among retail investors, with over $3 billion in purchases on a day when the S&P 500 fell by 2.4% [1][4] - The S&P 500 index has experienced significant volatility, making it difficult to assess the performance of retail investors based on their market timing [4][7] Group 2 - Long-term trends show that major U.S. stock indices are generally on the rise, but there have been periods where investors struggled to recover their principal [7] - Retail investors are favoring individual stocks, with 60% of their funds going into stocks like Tesla and Nvidia, while 40% is directed towards ETFs [7][8] - The investment behavior of retail investors is not solely driven by emotional fervor, as regular contributions to retirement accounts ensure continuous stock purchases regardless of market conditions [8]