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I dont think anyone has that data. Individual companies dont have a record of who owns their stock and what they bought it at. Even individual owners sometimes

I dont think anyone has that data. Individual companies dont have a record of who owns their stock and what they bought it at. Even individual owners sometimes dont know their own cost basis, let alone their broker or some centralized authority. This is further complicated by the fact that >50% of trades now occur outside of exchanges [1] You might be able to estimate a similar attribute by looking at IPO history and additional primary offerings, but that also has major challenges. It doesn't include pre-IPO owners that retain stake, buybacks, ect. What is Zuckerberg's cost basis in Meta? Interesting question though.... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-24/wall-street-enters-darker-age-with-most-stock-trading-now-hidden?embedded-checkout=true https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-24/wall-stre...

whatever1 2y ago
I don’t even directionally have an idea how much is it. Is it like 80% of the current total market value or 8%? My back of the envelope math plus very coarse assumptions lead me closer to 80%.
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  To be clear, you are talking about the aggregate for the current holders, understanding that actual cost basis will be different for every person with stock? Some people will have long invest duration with tiny cost basis, some will have cost basis over 100%. My ballpark guess is less than 80%. Most of the stock market is owned by households, either directly through equities, or indirectly through mutual funds and pensions [2, p14] Most individuals and pensions are long term positions, with buying and selling to increase or decrease a position, not buying or liquidating entire portfolios. If I guess the average hold time is ~5 years, that would be a about a 60% basis. US total stock market cap in feb 25' was 67 Trillion, Total market cap in feb 20' was 40 trillion. [1] What conclusion are you trying to draw from it? From an individual perspective, I care more about my cost basis in my market account, than the cost basis for an individual stock. I might have a 95% cost basis my current holding, but a 5% cost basis for my entire account(what I put in the market) https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/february-2020/market-statistics https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/february-2020/market... https://www.sifma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SIFMA-Insights-Who-Owns-Stocks-in-America.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.sifma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SIFMA-Insig...
  - gizajob 2y ago
    I’d hazard that average hold time is much shorter. What makes you say 5 years? My gut tells me that the majority of stocks are held by whales moving them in and out on a constant basis nowadays.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      I stated most of my rationale in the post, but I don't think whales buy and sell most of their portfolio. I think they move a tiny portion over and over again.
  - whatever1 2y ago
    I am trying to understand how much the stock market can drop before we destroy realized value (cash). Or how much money is not used in the economy, but rather it is tied to the stock market.
    - tacostakohashi 2y ago
      Leaving aside any drops, the entire market cant be sold/liquidated at once at it's current market cap / value. The current "value" / market cap of any given stock / the market is based on whatever tiny fraction of shares traded today.
      - whatever1 2y ago
        Outside the ~ 5 Trillion USD that went to primary market (IPOs, secondary offerings and share issuances) since 1970 and flowed to the actual companies, there is a significant amount of cash that is tied in the secondary market speculating the value of the stocks instead of e.g. providing liquidity to the economy. I am trying to understand how much is that.
        tacostakohashi 2y ago
        Hmm, not really. If you buy some shares from me for $1000, we settle and I give you the shares and you give me the $1000, and I can spend the $1000 on plane tickets or wine or put it in the bank or whatever, there is no $1000 that is "tied" to any shares. Perhaps you value those shares at $1000 on your balance sheet as their "book value" or "cost basis" or whatever, but the $1000 doesn't exist (you gave it to me), all you have is shares.
TZubiri 2y ago
Companies ofc have a record of how much they were issued at. Not that it necessarily would reflect its market value.

whatever1 2y ago

I don’t even directionally have an idea how much is it. Is it like 80% of the current total market value or 8%? My back of the envelope math plus very coarse assumptions lead me closer to 80%.

s1artibartfast 2y ago
To be clear, you are talking about the aggregate for the current holders, understanding that actual cost basis will be different for every person with stock? Some people will have long invest duration with tiny cost basis, some will have cost basis over 100%. My ballpark guess is less than 80%. Most of the stock market is owned by households, either directly through equities, or indirectly through mutual funds and pensions [2, p14] Most individuals and pensions are long term positions, with buying and selling to increase or decrease a position, not buying or liquidating entire portfolios. If I guess the average hold time is ~5 years, that would be a about a 60% basis. US total stock market cap in feb 25' was 67 Trillion, Total market cap in feb 20' was 40 trillion. [1] What conclusion are you trying to draw from it? From an individual perspective, I care more about my cost basis in my market account, than the cost basis for an individual stock. I might have a 95% cost basis my current holding, but a 5% cost basis for my entire account(what I put in the market) https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/february-2020/market-statistics https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/february-2020/market... https://www.sifma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SIFMA-Insights-Who-Owns-Stocks-in-America.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.sifma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SIFMA-Insig...
- gizajob 2y ago
  I’d hazard that average hold time is much shorter. What makes you say 5 years? My gut tells me that the majority of stocks are held by whales moving them in and out on a constant basis nowadays.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    I stated most of my rationale in the post, but I don't think whales buy and sell most of their portfolio. I think they move a tiny portion over and over again.
- whatever1 2y ago
  I am trying to understand how much the stock market can drop before we destroy realized value (cash). Or how much money is not used in the economy, but rather it is tied to the stock market.
  - tacostakohashi 2y ago
    Leaving aside any drops, the entire market cant be sold/liquidated at once at it's current market cap / value. The current "value" / market cap of any given stock / the market is based on whatever tiny fraction of shares traded today.
    - whatever1 2y ago
      Outside the ~ 5 Trillion USD that went to primary market (IPOs, secondary offerings and share issuances) since 1970 and flowed to the actual companies, there is a significant amount of cash that is tied in the secondary market speculating the value of the stocks instead of e.g. providing liquidity to the economy. I am trying to understand how much is that.
      - tacostakohashi 2y ago
        Hmm, not really. If you buy some shares from me for $1000, we settle and I give you the shares and you give me the $1000, and I can spend the $1000 on plane tickets or wine or put it in the bank or whatever, there is no $1000 that is "tied" to any shares. Perhaps you value those shares at $1000 on your balance sheet as their "book value" or "cost basis" or whatever, but the $1000 doesn't exist (you gave it to me), all you have is shares.

TZubiri 2y ago

Companies ofc have a record of how much they were issued at. Not that it necessarily would reflect its market value.