Hey, more power to you all. Be very careful, and only invest what you are comfortable losing.
2020 might have been the year that retail investors got their wings.
In July 2020, 25% of trades executed on the markets were made by the retail crowd. The rise of retail also largely correlates to the rise of investing communities, fintech apps and new spaces to discuss money. However, all communities pale in comparison to the influence and growth seen in /r/WallStreetBets.
In March 2020, we took a look at the best and worst trades that the /r/WallStreetBets crowd made. While not a lot has changed since then, this bizarre corner of the internet has capitalized on the millions of new investors. Wall Street Bets (WSB) quickly gained a reputation as a corner of the retail finance world where self-proclaimed “degenerates” could discuss aggressive, albeit highly risky, strategies. The bulk of those strategies include “YOLOing” (code for: blowing all your money) on short-dated calls in large-cap tech stocks.
WSB is a chaotic corner of the investing world. Few people will find WSB inoffensive and welcoming. The unabashed, politically incorrect community makes use of casual racism, references to mental disorders and shares a common disdain for government agencies like the SEC. However, behind the aggressive persona the WSB crowd flexes is a more fundamental desire — something extremely clear after the recent GameStop trade that has garnered the attention of financial journals.
