Meme Stocks & Retail Investors Are Increasingly Influencing The Markets

Are you an investor looking to get in on the hot new action? Well, check yourself before you wreck yourself because memes are now taking over the market! That’s right, meme stocks and retail investors are increasingly influencing financial markets – and chances are, you’ve either heard about it in the news or been asked to join the fun. So, gather yourself up, buckle up, and prepare to take a wild ride – because in this blog, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the current hype around meme stocks and how these everyday traders are becoming a powerful force in the market.

While passive investing has been taking share from actively managed funds for years, retail investing is also on the rise.There are a number of reasons for this. For one, technological advancements have made it easier than ever for everyday people to get involved in the market. In the past, you needed to go through a broker to make trades. Now, with the advent of online trading platforms like Robinhood, anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection can become an investor.

This ease of access has led to a surge in retail investors, who are now playing a bigger role in the market than ever before. In fact, they’re even being referred to as the “smart money” by some analysts.

But what exactly are meme stocks and why are they becoming so popular?

Meme stocks are stocks that have been propelled to stratospheric heights by a devoted following of online traders. These traders often band together on social media platforms like Reddit to pump up the price of a stock and cash in on the profits.

One of the most popular meme stocks of recent months is GameStop. In January 2021, a group of Reddit users started buying up shares of GameStop, driving up the stock price from around $17 to a high of $483 in just a matter of weeks.

While the traders may have been in it for the  quick hit of making a quick buck, the price increases also caused real financial damage to some of the hedge funds that had bet against the stock. This is because when the stock price goes up, the hedge funds have to buy back the shares they had sold short at a much higher price, incurring heavy losses.

Some have hailed the Reddit traders as financial revolutionaries, taking on the establishment and winning. Others have called them a “mob” and compared them to casino gamblers.

But whether you love them or hate them, there’s no denying that meme stocks and retail investors are having a moment – and they’re here to stay.