Mutual fund ownership among US households has grown steadily over the past two decades, with middle-income families accounting for much of the increase, according to new research from the Investment Company Institute.
The ICI’s annual survey found that 57% of middle-income households owned mutual funds in 2025, up from 43% in 2005. The largest gains were seen in the second income quintile, reflecting a broadening of mutual fund participation beyond higher-income groups. The median income for mutual fund–owning households was $125,000, compared to a mean income of $154,700.
“Rising mutual fund ownership among middle-income households demonstrates the important role these investments play in the growing strength of the American middle class,” Sarah Holden, ICI senior director of retirement and investor research, said in a statement.
The survey, which included responses from more than 9,000 US households, found that mutual fund investors span a range of ages, employment statuses, and income levels. In 2025, 53.9% of all US households – an estimated 72.7 million – owned mutual funds, either directly or through employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, or other accounts.
ICI's survey found full-time employees made up a modest 53% majority of US households invested in mutual funds, with those retired and not employed representing another 30%.
The data show that mutual fund–owning households are most often in their peak earning and saving years: 52% are between the ages of 35 and 64, while 32% are 65 or older.
Ownership rates remain highest among older generations, with 59% of Baby Boomer households and 63% of Silent Generation households holding mutual funds, compared with 57% of Gen X, 50% of Millennials, and 33% of Generation Z households.
"Members of the Baby Boom Generation and Generation X were the largest shares of mutual fund–owning households in 2025, reflecting both their generation sizes and their high incidence of mutual fund ownership," ICI said in its full 2025 survey report on mutual fund investors' characteristics.
Mutual funds continue to play a central role in household finances. Nearly two-thirds of mutual fund–owning households had more than half of their financial assets invested in mutual funds. Equity funds remain the most popular, with 81% of mutual fund–owning households holding them, while 53% own money market funds and 35% own bond funds.
Retirement saving remains the primary motivation for most mutual fund investors. The ICI survey found that 86% of mutual fund–owning households cited retirement as a financial goal, and 78% said it was their primary goal. Just over one-fourth (27%) cited an interest in emergency savings, and 19% identified reducing taxable income as a primary goal.
"Though the vast majority of mutual fund–owning households (68.0 million) held funds in tax-deferred savings accounts, 22.8 million US households held long-term mutual funds (stock, bond, and balanced funds) in taxable accounts in 2025," the survey report said.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans – including defined contribution plans and IRAs – remain a key entry point, with 73% of mutual fund–owning households having funds in such plans; among households younger than 50, that figure rises to 84.
Seventy-two percent of all households said they own mutual funds outside workplace plans, and 49% said they purchased funds through an investment professional, compared to 27% who said they owned funds bought through direct purchase channels.
Broken down by age cohort, the Silent Generation were the most likely to cite independent financial planners as their primary source of mutual funds (30%), followed closely by Baby Boomers (24%). Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z were overwhelmingly more likely to say they primarily owned mutual funds through an employer-sponsored plan.
The report also highlights a trend toward greater diversity among newer mutual fund investors. In 2025, 46% of households who purchased their first mutual fund after 2019 identified as Asian, Hispanic, or Black, compared with a much smaller share among those who began investing before 1990.
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