Sure, there wasn't much new in Friday's YouTube livestream by Keith Gill, a.k.a., "Roaring Kitty." He's still long GameStop and believes in the turnaround story; he's still alive; and he insisted he's not trying to manipulate markets or do anything nefarious.
The market was unimpressed. The shares closed down 40%. Professional investors blanched at the spectacle of it all (the headband! The juvenilia! The beer drinking!). But I don't think we should gloss over the significance of this moment.
Reflecting on the past three-plus years since the breakout of "meme mania," a couple observations come to mind. One, Gill has actually built considerable wealth through his trades (whether he can hang onto it is T.B.D.). And two: Gill is also the biggest "breakout star" of this populist trading era. The George Soros or Bill Ackman of his time. How apt: "Roaring" Kitty becoming the "degen" face of the purported "Roaring Twenties."
Now, if this were just a story about viral trading and overhyped stock pitches, there wouldn't be much more to it. But there really has been a renaissance of retail investors and traders, fueled not so much by flash-in-the-pan meme stocks, but actual wealth-building over the years thanks to the likes of Netflix, Apple and Tesla. It's all very Peter Lynch or Charlie Munger-esque.
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Case in point: I was at a fundraising brainstorm for a local nonprofit the other night. We all offered a grab-bag of the usual suggestions: a fall festival! A speaker series! Grant money! Then one of the guys spoke up with an unusual suggestion: What about asking people to donate their trading profits? "People aren't making real money from their jobs anymore," he said. "The middle class has gotten wiped out. But they are making money in the stock market."
After all, who wouldn't rather cash in on the rise of the big tech giants than worry about whether A.I. is about to take their job? Some of the self-proclaimed "degens" probably even hope it does, depending on exactly how thrilling their work is. And a few extra bucks in the stock market certainly helps take the sting out of inflation.
"Yeah, all the kids at school own Nvidia," said one of the moms at our brainstorm, with a laugh. The lawyer in the room then offered some strategies people could use to donate stock profits, or transfer equities themselves, or earmark part of their 401(k) proceeds.
Money Report
It's like the old line from "The Graduate": I just want to whisper one word to you. Stocks! Except this time around, the teenagers knew it first. Now, let's ask A.I. how this movie turns out.
Speaking of which--see you at 1 p.m for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference...
Kelly
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