Avi Salzman on the retail trading boom

Traditional investors may be tempted to write off the entire phenomenon as temporary madness inspired by lockdowns and free government money.  But that would be a mistake.  If zero-commission brokerages and fun with GameStop broke down barriers for millions of new investors to open accounts, it’s almost certainly a good thing, as long as most people bet with money they don’t need immediately.  Many new retail traders say they are teaching themselves how to trade, and have begun to diversify their holdings. 

In one form or another, this is the future client base of Wall Street.

~ Avi Salzman, "Meme Stocks Defy Gravity," Barron's, July 12, 2021