Robinhood Traders

The buzz over the last week or so on FinTwit is on “Robinhood traders” which is a stereotype of young kids gambling on risky stock using free-trading apps. Robinhood traders have been blamed for cult stock rises such as $HTZ and $NKLA. The perception of young kids buying risky stock and beating out hedge fund managers is a mind boggling concept. The memes and jokes going around are absolutely hilarious as well.

Free-trading apps such as Robinhood has allowed bored millenials to effectively gamble on the stock market. It’s at the same time a wonderful and scary thought.

Many including myself have learned about the markets and investing through Robinhood. I developed my love for the markets because apps like Robinhood made it easy and free for me to invest. I suspect many young people are also in that same boat.

I also suspect that there are many people out there acting recklessly and treating this like a game of blackjack at a casino. This is real money and the stakes can be high. I can only hope that the majority of Robinhood traders are treating this as a way to learn about the markets and not as a short-term gamble.

We can only hope that apps like Robinhood create a net positive for society. I am optimistic but we’ll have to wait a few years to find out.