Investor exposure to equities has climbed to unprecedented levels, according to fresh analyses from Goldman Sachs and other research firms. Goldman estimates that stocks now account for 53 percent of the combined financial assets held by U.S. households, mutual funds, pension funds and overseas investors, the highest share since the bank began tracking the data. Households remain at the centre of the shift. They have 43 percent of their assets in equities—more than four percentage points above the peak reached during the late-1990s dot-com boom—one gauge shows. A separate estimate from Ned Davis Research puts the household allocation at roughly 48 percent for the first quarter, and the firm cautions that such elevated readings have historically preceded periods of weaker market performance. Overseas investors are also piling in. Apollo Global Management calculations indicate foreign holders now control about 18 percent of the U.S. stock market, the highest share on record and a mirror image of the country’s persistent trade deficit, which channels export proceeds back into American assets. Retail participation has intensified alongside the broader shift. Goldman Sachs says penny stocks—a proxy for retail activity—accounted for 47.4 percent of total market volume on 13 June, more than double the levels seen during the meme-stock surge of 2020–21. The confluence of record exposures across investor classes comes as major equity indices hover near all-time highs, leaving strategists debating whether the build-up signals confidence in U.S. growth or a late-cycle exuberance that could amplify future volatility.