Rising climate change concerns and high gas prices led young investors to lean into companies focused on building for a renewable energy future

Investors across generations remain bullish on flagship cryptocurrencies

Apex Fintech Solutions (“Apex”), the fintech for fintechs powering innovation and the future of digital wealth management, today released its Third Quarter 2022 Apex Next Investor Outlook (“Q3 ANIO Report” or the “report”). The report, which analyzes proprietary data of U.S.-based investors who trade through introducing brokers on the Apex Clearing platform as of September 30, 2022, sheds light on the top 100 stocks^[1] held by investors across four generations, with a special focus on the millennial and rising Gen Z^[2] demographics. The report also includes an analysis of cryptocurrency trading data across the platform. The report is not intended as securities analysis nor as a recommendation to buy or sell any investment and is meant for informational purposes only.

Throughout the third quarter 2022, Gen Z investors turned to renewable energy stocks that focus on mitigating climate change and rising gas prices. Alternative energy companies including Rivian, ChargePoint, Plug Power Inc., and Enphase Energy experienced notable growth. Consistent with the second quarter 2022, stable, income-generating, dividend players such as Costco, Abbvie and Chevron were still widely held, while the top stocks held within the Gen Z top 10 included Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

“As recession fears increase and geopolitical and environmental concerns are top-of-mind globally, younger investors are increasingly looking to technological innovation to pave the way for a clean energy future. At the same time, investors across generations remain interested in accessing the power of digital assets,” said Connor Coughlin, General Manager, Fintech at Apex Fintech Solutions. “Apex’s data underscores a heightened level of retail engagement as digital trading, wealth technology and financial education platforms continue to democratize access to the financial markets.”

While turbulent crypto market conditions persist, Millennial investors remained bullish on Bitcoin and other flagship cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. There were approximately 5.2 million crypto-enabled accounts on the Apex Crypto platform in the third quarter, a 6% increase from 4.9 million in the second quarter. Millennials represented 43% of those 5.2 million crypto-enabled accounts, with Gen Z following at 35%, Gen X at 18%, and Boomers at just 4%. Across all generations analyzed, 90% of accounts continued to hold their positions across tokens offered on the Apex Crypto platform.

Overall, the report analyzed nearly 1.4 million Gen Z accounts, in addition to over 6.8 million accounts held by millennials, Gen X and baby boomers owned by investors on the Apex platform, calculated as of September 30, 2022.

Themes in the Apex Q3 Next Investor Outlook include:

• Renewables Powered Up While Oil Stayed Steady – With rising gas prices in the headlines, Gen Z investors plugged into an array of renewable energy stocks to express their views on the current environment and the future of energy sourcing, amid rising climate change concerns.
  • Beneficiaries of this trend were EV company Rivian, solar company Enphase Energy, EV charging company ChargePoint, and hydrogen fuel cell company Plug Power Inc., who each rose about twenty spots to #35, #43, #56 and #58 respectively.
  • On the other side of the trend, oil and gas companies ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Energy Transfer slightly declined in the rankings to #26, #59, and #72 respectively.
    
    
    
    
• Despite Stormy Crypto Headlines, Heavy Buy-Side Crypto Trading Warmed Up – In Q2, negative sentiment and lower asset values put a chill on the cryptocurrency world, and this trend continued through the summer. In Q3, Apex Crypto users placed over 2 million trades, 68% of them buy orders. Millennials had the highest number of buys (674,000); however, the highest percentage of buys were made by Boomers (73%) and Gen X (72%).
  • Gen Z placed 315,000 trades, and 62% were buys
  • Millennial investors placed 992,000 trades, and 68% were buys
  • Gen X placed 673,000 trades, 72% were buys
  • Boomers have placed 122,000 trades, 73% were buys
    
    
    
    

• Millennials are Bullish on Bitcoin - Although the price of BTC versus the U.S. dollar slumped more than 50% in Q2, investors continued to buy and hold flagship cryptocurrencies in Q3. Once again, millennials drove bullish behavior on BTC, making up over half (51%) of accounts invested in the asset. Gen X investors made up for 25% of accounts holding BTC, while Gen Z and Boomers made up 19% and 5%, respectively. Here’s a look at the numbers:
  • 63% increase in BTC token held since the beginning of the year
  • 13% growth in BTC token held during Q3
  • 68% of BTC token bought in Q3 were held through the end of the quarter
    
    
    
    
• The Long-Awaited Ethereum Merge:
  • The long-awaited merge in Ethereum, and a good bounce of 6-month lows in price have put cryptocurrency tokens back in focus for Gen Z investors, and increasingly Gen X investors.
    • Digital assets technology company Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. jumped to #80 from a previously unranked position.
    • Both Gen Z and Gen X investors showed renewed interest in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, rising 21 spots to #50 in the Gen Z rankings and 30 spots to #75 in the Gen X rankings.

• Gen Z’s New Growth Tech Stock Darlings:
  • During this year’s stock market selloff, tech stocks that have been market darlings lost some of their luster. In Q3, upward movement of stocks in the Top 100 suggests that Gen Z investors are starting to pick their new favorites and buying at significant discounts from past highs.
    • DraftKings, Shopify and Coinbase were beneficiaries of this trend and have emerged as Gen Z’s new tech stock favorites. Millennials also showed a particular interest in Shopify. Specifically, DraftKings rose 23 notches to #32, Shopify jumped to #44 from a previously unranked position, and Coinbase rose 21 spots to #50.
    • While new growth tech favorites are surfacing, Gen Z still showed a preference for the “blue chip” crypto tokens (defined in this case as BTC, BCH, LTC and ETH) with 76% of their Q3 trades. Boomers follow with 64%, millennials with 63% and Gen X with 58%.

To download the full Q3, 2022 ANIO Report, click [here].

About Apex Fintech Solutions

Apex Fintech Solutions is a fintech powerhouse enabling seamless access, frictionless investing, and investor education for all. Apex’s omni-suite of scalable solutions fuel innovation and evolution for hundreds of today’s market leaders, challengers, change makers, and visionaries. The Company’s digital ecosystem creates an environment where clients with the biggest ideas are empowered to change the world. Apex works to ensure their partners succeed on the frontlines of the industry via bespoke custody & clearing, advisory, institutional, digital assets, and SaaS solutions through its Apex Clearing™, Apex Crypto™, Apex Advisor Solutions™, Apex Silver™, and Apex CODA Markets™ brands.

For more information, visit the Apex Fintech Solutions website: https://www.apexfintechsolutions.com.

Important Information:

The availability of products and services may vary by country. Nothing herein is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, products, or services by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. The summary data in this report is composed of specific types of accounts that met certain criteria that clear through Apex (e.g., self-directed individual accounts within a certain age range at a particular point in time). Any company stocks and ticker symbols that appear herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation for a particular security. All investments carry risks. Investment returns will fluctuate and are subject to market volatility. An investor’s shares, when redeemed or sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. You should consider your investment objectives, the risks involved, and consult with your investment and/or tax professional about your specific circumstances prior to making an investment decision.

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[1]</sup> Top 100 stock rankings reflect the 100 largest holdings based on notional values as of September 30, 2022, held across all retail accounts on the Apex platform.

^[2]The generations are segmented by the birth date of the account holders: Baby Boomers: 1946-1964; Generation X: 1965-1980; Millennial: 1981-1996; Generation Z: 1996-2012.

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