B3 reports record growth in Brazilian retail investment accounts

The Brazilian stock market has seen significant growth in retail participation. B3 reported that as of June 2026, there were 6.45 million individual investor accounts in variable income, the highest level in five years.

In the real estate investment fund (FII) sector, the number of investors reached a record 3.297 million in July. This represents a 14.2% increase over the previous nine months. Retail investors hold 73.7% of the custody position in FIIs. The market volume for these funds reached R$ 11.6 billion in July, up from R$ 9.6 billion in June.

Experts note a common misunderstanding regarding asset custody. While investors often believe their assets are held by their brokers or banks, these assets are actually deposited at the B3 central depository. The broker acts as an intermediary for execution and service, but B3 maintains the actual custody, which is a critical distinction for understanding asset security and ownership in the event of an intermediary's failure.