Retail investors have been the market’s backbone, the most consistent dip-buyers since 2020, a behavior forged during the pandemic rebound, the Wall Street investment bank said. That strategy has paid off handsomely as the S&P 500 reached multiple all-time highs this year. Retail investors’ steady inflows of fresh cash during market pullbacks have positioned them ahead of many institutional investors who stayed cautious amid rate-cut uncertainty and geopolitical conflict, from trade wars to Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.