I came across a very unique article this morning that speaks to the shift in market, knowledge and FOMO (fear of missing out) that has hit the retail investor.  

Have you taken some ‘fun’ money and invested it on your own the past 2-3 months?  It seems that a large number of people have….this is scary.

Ok, if you are truly investing ‘fun’ money that you can lose and it will not affect your daily budget or retirement plan, then that is one thing. 

Studies have shown a spike in investing due to the unique circumstances we are in….the one that caught my eye was sports betting.  Look no further than Dave Portnoy (see more on him here).

Sports betting was a $150 Billion business in 2019.  Seems like a large portion of this has been placed in Robinhood accounts in the US, or in Wealthsimple Trade in Canada – both free stock trading platforms.

So, there you have it, Billions of dollars are being traded in the stock markets by sports betters – let me be clear, stock market investing is nothing like sports betting…I shouldn’t and won’t divulge into that.

Look no further than Hertz Car rental.

On May 2^nd they declared bankruptcy.  The stock dropped to $0.55 from a high of over $20 earlier this year.

Just 2 weeks later the stock spiked to $5.53.  Try and find the fundamentals behind this…you won’t!

DIY investing has always been challenging (especially short term or day trading).  You chase high returns or the ‘hot’ tip your neighbor told you about that nobody knows about…I get it…you want to retire early.

I could write a 50-page blog on clients that have lived this story and never made it through – coming out the other end with 100% losses – not the 5,000% gains they were anticipating.

If you want to retire early, there are better ways – spend less, get a second job, live on a budget, sell depreciating assets, focus on eliminating debts…and more.

But…

You also need to invest wisely. 

If you are not already a client of ours and would like to explore this further please give us a call.

Lastly…

If you are investing retirement or budget money, then this is for you…listen up!  STOP!

Happy investing and don’t be a Robinhood!