The Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority has published the second edition of its quarterly Retail Investor Dashboard, highlighting record retail trading activity in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a renewed increase in first-time investors in listed products during the fourth quarter of 2024. The FSMA reported that 76,000 Belgian retail investors traded ETFs in the quarter, nearly 25% more than the previous quarter. First-time participation also rose, with 16,000, 19,000 and 5,000 retail investors trading listed shares, ETFs and bonds for the first time respectively. Belgian retail investors executed over one million equity transactions in the quarter, while quarterly ETF transactions increased by over 80% year-on-year to 207,000. Half of new investors started with equities and just over one third with ETFs, and more than 40% of the total value of equities traded was in North American shares, the highest share recorded in the last five years.