Retail Investors Pour Record $46 Million Into IGV Software ETF as AI Trade Broadens

Retail traders set a single-day record for net purchases of the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) on June 2, 2026, buying $46 million worth of shares as the artificial intelligence boom spreads beyond semiconductor stocks. The previous high was $32.8 million in early February, according to Vanda Research. The buying surge ignited a rally in software companies, with ServiceNow, IBM, Adobe, Atlassian, Salesforce and Workday jumping between 7.5% and 9.6% in the session. IGV soared 5.9% to its highest level in roughly five months. Vanda Research noted the AI trade is showing early signs of broadening from chips into software, marking the sector as an initial beneficiary of the rotation. Worries about AI disruption had plagued the sector since February when Anthropic launched automation tools capable of handling marketing and data analytics tasks, threatening traditional software firms. The rally lost steam on June 3, with IGV sliding 3.1%, leaving the ETF down more than 1% year-to-date.