The GameStop saga has left investors wondering whether the rise of retail investor control is a flash in the pan or a new paradigm in investment returns.
“Tax Wall Street trades”: a group of demonstrators outside the New York Stock Exchange building protest against restrictions on trading GameStop amid stock chaos in New York City on January 28. Getty
It’s the trading mania story that has captured the world’s attention, moving beyond the realms of market insiders, onto the nightly news and into the corridors of power. The tale of the little-known and struggling video game chain with 4000 stores across the United States that became the most heavily traded stock in the world is almost too wild to be true.
There are moments in financial history that define a generation, and the extraordinary battle between hedge funds and day traders over shares in GameStop, and the revolutionary movement it has unleashed, looms as one of those.
Tom RichardsonJournalistTom Richardson was a journalist at The Australian Financial Review
James ThomsonColumnistJames Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine. Connect with James on Twitter. Email James at j.thomson@afr.com
Jonathan ShapiroSenior reporterJonathan Shapiro writes about banking and finance, specialising in hedge funds, corporate debt, private equity and investment banking. He is based in Sydney. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter. Email Jonathan at jonathan.shapiro@afr.com
