The bets are: no longer alone on Wall Street — they’re in your group chats, book clubs, and that awkward shuffle that happens when everyone tries to get out the door at the same time at the end of class.
Community investment clubs are nothing new, but a renewed interest in decentralization and the glittering – albeit now hangover – allure of getting on the ground floor of a rocket venture has created a new wave of group investment efforts.
Individualism is out. Collectivism is in vogue.
The game stops (not)
The meme stock craze of 2021 revealed a crucial trend: people want to invest with the conviction of a community behind them. It is difficult to assess exactly how many retail investors (also known as ordinary people) first started investing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but one Schwab study estimates that 15% of investors who entered the market in 2021 entered the market for the first time in 2020.
Outperforming the market requires differentiated thinking, often a solitary pursuit. But humans are social creatures, and money and investing can be scary.
