Do you have kids, grandkids, or friends with either?
If you do, you probably understand how big gaming is, as if you couldn’t tell from seeing them doing those weird little dances they’re always picking up from their favorite titles.
Actually, you don’t need to be around kids to know that electronic gaming has become a worldwide phenomenon…
With games like Minecraft, Fortnite and Call of Duty capturing the attention of many of today’s youth (and adults) – it seems like gaming companies may be poised to be the next power players as we move deeper into the 21st Century.
The key is keeping them playing at all times – which is why having mobile platforms so kids can play them on their phones or tablets is key…
And the trend is catching on.
There’s another form of mobile “gaming” taking hold of Millennials – and you’ll never guess what kind it is.
Yes…
There’s a new game in town, and it shouldn’t have been hard to foresee the growth of this market – but apparently not many people did – and it’s starting to gain a lot of steam.
What do you think happens when you mix a gamer’s mentality with trading?
Or…
What if you take the excitement of computer gaming and add real stakes to the outcome?
Yes, believe it or not, gamers are getting into trading – and they’re changing the landscape in unexpected ways.
But what’s drawing them in all of a sudden?
Well, apps like Robinhood, Webull, M1 Finance and JPMorgan’s (JPM) You Invest are getting these new traders to sign up by doing one simple thing…
Making it easy.
By using simple designs, trade alerts, and by handing out prizes like free shares for recruiting friends – they’re attracting millions of young users – and these young traders are getting hooked… fast.
These users have been trained to look at their phones to check social media, to kill time while at dinner, or waiting at the doctor’s office…
And where they once would have been glued to Instagram, Facebook (FB), or their favorite online game…
These Millennial traders are now checking their trading apps as much or more than their beloved social media.
Not only that…
They’re now starting to kill time with trades too – instead of killing time by playing Candy Crush – they’re logging into their apps and trading.
Welcome to the 21st Century.
You wouldn’t think there would be much of a downside to billions of new dollars being injected into the markets…
But there is a dark side.
These kids don’t have the experience or knowledge to be able to withstand the pressures and uncertainty that can be commonplace in the markets and their reactions could be catastrophic to their futures…
As well as the consequences that could show up in the form of volatility from their knee-jerk reactions.
Some pundits are comparing this new influx of money into the markets to the dotcom boom of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when online trading first became popular.
Some of you may not remember how crazy those years were when a new batch of young investors started trying to get rich from tech and e-commerce stocks – buying up anything that would debut – until they were left holding the bag when many of those same companies went belly up.
Ben Edwards, a law professor from UNVL, may have put it best when he said,
“Much like easy, self-directed electronic trading allowed people to use broker-dealers to gamble in the stock market, free apps and this bull market are bringing the ability to make foolish decisions to an ever-broader swath of people.”
And we saw a bit of how those decisions could affect the market last year when volatility reared its ugly head and we watched the S&P drop 14% in the fourth quarter, hitting its lowest level since April 2017.
And even though it’s rebounded from it’s 2018 low…
Volatility remains elevated.
The question going forward is – will this new crop of investors be an asset to the markets…
Or a liability?
Only time will tell…
My advice to one of these new-age “game traders?”
Join GorillaTrades…
And while you’d think that would be selfishly motivated – it’s not. Somebody has to show these kids the ropes before they get behind the 8 ball.
We’ve helped a lot people get the chance to make a lot of money…
And they could do a lot worse by going with most of the other “hot” trading sites available on the internet.
Even better?
No stupid dances…
“The further you get into technology, the further you go into gaming. That’s the general rule.” – Nick Johnson