Withdrawals From Investing Accounts Are Funding More American Spending As They Hit a Decade High

More Americans are pulling money from their investment portfolios and moving it into checking accounts to support spending, a shift that is making household finances increasingly dependent on the performance of the stock market.

Over the three months ending in April, 8.2% of individuals transferred money from investments into checking accounts, according to new research from the JPMorganChase Institute. That is more than double the 4% recorded during the same period in 2019 and more than triple the 2.4% rate in 2015.

Those transfers are also becoming a more significant source of money for consumers. Investment withdrawals were equivalent to 6.8% of spending from the checking accounts studied, compared with 3.5% in 2019 and 2.3% in 2015.

The JPMorganChase Institute analyzed more than 20 million de-identified Chase checking accounts for the research. The trend is most pronounced among older and wealthier Americans, but investment withdrawals have become more common across every age and income group examined in the study. Money is flowing from both brokerage and retirement accounts into checking accounts.

"Household wealth in stocks has risen relative to the rest of the economy, and therefore, the connection between financial markets and the real economy can be greater," George Eckerd, wealth and markets research director for the JPMorganChase Institute, said. "The flows that we're looking at are evidence of that."

That connection has strengthened following years of substantial stock market gains. After falling 19.4% in 2022, the S&P 500 gained 24.2% in 2023, 23.3% in 2024 and 16.4% in 2025, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The benchmark was up roughly 12.2% this year through Sept. 28.

Rising markets can stimulate consumer spending through the so-called wealth effect. As investment portfolios rise in value, households may feel wealthier and become more comfortable spending.

But the relationship works in both directions, potentially making consumer spending more vulnerable to a major market downturn. Research published in September by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that consumption has become significantly more sensitive to stock market movements over the past three decades as equities have grown more important to household balance sheets.

The researchers estimated that a hypothetical 25% decline in the S&P 500 could produce a roughly 3% decline in consumption. That could have broad economic consequences because consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Researchers cannot determine exactly what consumers are buying with the money they withdraw. It could cover anything from groceries and monthly bills to travel and luxury purchases. What is clearer is that the money is not simply accumulating in checking accounts.

Among the top 10% of earners, 20.3% made net withdrawals from investment accounts during the three months ending in April, compared with 6.6% during the same period in 2015. Among people earning below the median income, the share increased to 4.1% from 1.1%.

Older affluent Americans showed some of the largest shifts. Among people 65 and older in the top 10% of income, 37.3% made net investment withdrawals in 2025, up from 24.5% in 2019. Those flows were equivalent to 14.9% of their spending.

But younger Americans are increasingly tapping investments as well. Among 25- to 44-year-olds earning below the median income, 7.1% made net withdrawals in 2025, up from 2.9% in 2019. At the same time, more younger Americans are investing. Among 25- to 44-year-olds, 16.6% were net investors in 2025, nearly double the 8.5% recorded in 2019.