The Financial Times just posted an article about the low number of retail investors in U.S. equities. I think it warrants some attention:

Individual ownership of US stocks has fallen to a record low, underscoring the increasing importance of institutional investors in domestic equity markets, according to a report to be released today.

Retail investors owned 34 per cent of all shares and 24 per cent of stock in the top 1,000 companies at the end of 2006, the last year for which figures are available, said the Conference Board, an industry group. Both numbers are record lows.

By contrast, individual investors owned 94 per cent of all stocks in 1950 and 63 per cent of all shares in 1980, the group's 2008 Institutional Investment Report said.

Institutions - defined as pension funds, investment companies, insurance companies, banks and foundations - held 76 per cent of the shares in the biggest 1,000 companies, up from 61 per cent in 2000, the report said. The 66 per cent share of all stocks held by institutions was up from 63 per cent two years before.