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In much of the news coverage, analysts have reaffirmed their knowledge of the financial markets and levelled insults at the WallStreetBets investors. Many analysts and investors have also derided WallStreetBets investors as uneducated people who might lose their shirts on their bets.
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Trading platforms have tried to curb the power of Redditors by limiting transactions under the rationale of protecting consumers. In the financial world, reactions to WallStreetBets have been varied. Whether they’re fashion houses or record companies or hedge funds and wealth management companies, people in power typically try to undermine the threat posed by market transformations that could upend their business model and minimize their influence. Yet this influential group comprises “ 100s of mini Mike Tysons” who together yielded enough power to cause billions of dollars in losses to established financial firms. In contrast, WallStreetBets’ members are known for the self-deprecating ways they describe themselves, typically as “yoloing” cuckolds and degenerates, painting a clear contrast to the supposedly respectable smart money investors. Smart money is typically portrayed as involving successful, respected investors who possess important knowledge of financial markets. Institutional investors, such as large banks and hedge funds and their wealthy clients, were traditionally seen as the “ smart money” who influence the movement of markets. Until now, retail investors have usually been the customers of financial institutions. These contrasting beliefs are the topic of many humorous videos and memes. Whatever the goal pursued, the beliefs and risky behavior of this new breed of retail investors are a far cry from those that often characterize typical stock market investors, many of whom heed financial advisers and favor long-term investments in safe opportunities like blue chip stocks, mutual funds or, for the riskier investor, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. At least for some members of WallStreetBets, investing is part bet, part joke, part driven by mischievous Redditors and part get-rich-quick scheme.įor others, WallStreetBets represents an opportunity to exploit and expose weaknesses in the financial markets. These new retail investors are also fuelling a different way of thinking about investing. Some have argued that the greater transparency regarding the investment techniques being discussed openly online could “ force greater transparency on the institutional side.” New ways to think about investing
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Instead of getting their investment education the usual way, via courses at colleges and universities, retail investors learned online, among themselves.Ĭonsequently, retail investors have spurred changes in the work performed by professional financial advisers, analysts and educators, as well as institutional investors. The Reddit logo on a mobile device in New York.
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The changes have been brought about by retail investors meeting and exchanging information online, such as on Reddit forums, Discord groups, YouTube channels, Twitter and Stocktwits, on how to perform the type of work traditionally done by financial sector advisers and analysts. In response, professional financial stakeholders are trying to delegitimize retail investors to maintain their influence. And they’ve strengthened the influence of retail investors across the board. They’ve introduced new ways of thinking about investing. WallStreetBets is now reshaping financial markets in three important ways: Amateur market participants, or retail investors, have taken on work traditionally done by financial advisers, analysts and educators, changing who does what in the market. In the fashion, financial and music markets, hundreds of thousands of people are highly engaged and share their passion online, and can fuel significant transformations without necessarily wanting to do so. If the financial world follows the pattern seen a decade or so ago in other markets, such as fashion and music, Reddit’s WallStreetBets (r/wallstreetbets) phenomenon might have transformed investing forever. Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Assistant professor in marketing and Research Chair in Complexity and Markets, Concordia University.
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