The Rise of Retail Investors, With Gav Blaxberg, WOLF Financial

06/03/21 • 45 min

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Gav Blaxberg of WOLF Financial joins the podcast to discuss his views of the retail investors who have been pushing stocks like GameStop and more recently AMC. Blaxberg's research on this phenomenon predates the GameStop brouhaha. He has reasons to believe retail investors have been gaining in power and will be a growing force to reckon with when it comes to major movement, especially among small cap stocks.

Content Highlights: (Spotify users can click on the timestamp to link to the segment in question)

What happened with GameStop was not an anomaly. Expect more where that came from (3:47);
The trend did not start with GameStop, but can be traced to the 'Kodak movement' (5:07);
Institutions still have more capital and control more of public companies' shares. How are smaller retail investors able to move these stocks? Even small caps? (8:23);
The return of retail investors, which hasn't been seen since the heady days of the dot-com doom, can be traced in large part to commission-free trades (10:37);
Quick segue after the guest mentions he gets 9% APR on his blockchain-linked savings account -- in USD (14:25);
Background on the guest and how he came to start WOLF Financial (20:42);
Twitter remains the most actionable social media platform when it comes to moving stocks. Everything else is a distant second. Yes, even Reddit (32:30);
So what stocks are popular on social media right now? It's still growth stocks. Some examples (36:34);
What stocks have potential but don't do enough (or anything on social media) and could boost their popularity with retail investors if they changed this? Some examples (39:34).

More Information on the Guest

Wolf Financial website: WOLF.Financial;
Wolf Financial Twitter: @WOLF_Financial;
Personal Twitter: @GavBlaxberg.

Not intended as investment advice.

Content Highlights: (Spotify users can click on the timestamp to link to the segment in question)

What happened with GameStop was not an anomaly. Expect more where that came from (3:47);
The trend did not start with GameStop, but can be traced to the 'Kodak movement' (5:07);
Institutions still have more capital and control more of public companies' shares. How are smaller retail investors able to move these stocks? Even small caps? (8:23);
The return of retail investors, which hasn't been seen since the heady days of the dot-com doom, can be traced in large part to commission-free trades (10:37);
Quick segue after the guest mentions he gets 9% APR on his blockchain-linked savings account -- in USD (14:25);
Background on the guest and how he came to start WOLF Financial (20:42);
Twitter remains the most actionable social media platform when it comes to moving stocks. Everything else is a distant second. Yes, even Reddit (32:30);
So what stocks are popular on social media right now? It's still growth stocks. Some examples (36:34);
What stocks have potential but don't do enough (or anything on social media) and could boost their popularity with retail investors if they changed this? Some examples (39:34).

More Information on the Guest

Wolf Financial website: WOLF.Financial;
Wolf Financial Twitter: @WOLF_Financial;
Personal Twitter: @GavBlaxberg.

Not intended as investment advice.

Previous Episode

Cryptocurrencies and Regulatory Risk: Real and Present, With Jacob Ma-Weaver, Cable Car Capital

Jacob Ma-Weaver of Cable Car Capital Management joins the podcast to discuss the regulatory risk facing cryptocurrencies. This podcast was recorded on May 19, a day bitcoin dropped some 15% after the People's Bank of China published a report warning over the use of digital currencies. But even before the PBOC, cryptos were dropping in value. Bitcoin has declined more than 30% from its high set earlier this month.

Ma-Weaver's interest in cryptocurrencies originates with his work as an activist short-seller. He has held conversations with regulators on cryptocurrency exchanges in particular. That was much of the focus of the conversation. Not intended as investment advice. Nothing on this episode should be taken as an endorsement for or criticism of cryptocurrencies in any form.

Content Highlights (Spotify users can click on the timestamp to link to the start of the section directly)

What informs Ma-Weaver's perspective on cryptocurrencies and crypto regulation, and his thoughts on the PBOC move (5:37);
Crypto exchanges: How are they currently regulated in the U.S., and why is this one of the biggest areas of potential enforcement? (11:24);
A lot of the issue boils down to 'what is a security?' The definition is quite broad, contrary to what proponents of digital currencies might claim (14:50);
Why haven't any government agencies stepped in to try to regulate cryptos? (21:54);
More background on the guest (34:39);
Specifics on what might be coming from regulators in the U.S. (38:45);
Publicly-traded companies that serve as proxies for crypto. Are they at risk? (49:02);
Does increased regulation remove the utility of cryptos? (51:21);
Ten years from now, will cryptos still be a thing? The short answer: no (53:26).

More Information on the Guest:

Twitter: @CableCarCapital.

Next Episode

Fed Meeting and Economic Outlook: Quick Call With Scott Colbert, Commerce Trust Co.

Scott Colbert, chief economist at Commerce Trust Company in St. Louis, rejoins the Contrarian Investor Podcast to discuss the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting and state of the economy. This was a quick call recorded over a phone line on Tuesday, June 15.

Content Highlights:

The Fed meeting that concludes June 16 and the coming discussion around the rolldown of QE (0:52);
Colbert's reasons for being "grossly optimistic" about the economy (3:43);
The biggest concern is around the length of the current expansion (5:04);
The prospects of asset bubbles and why the 'dot plot' should see an increase from four to six or seven members of the FOMC who want to see higher interest rates (7:37);
Where does all this leave investors? (11:06);
What is driving the drop in bond yields (14:41);

Not intended as investment advice.