According to analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), the retail investing boom that began earlier in the year is not only expected to continue through the end of the year but to grow stronger.
Starting earlier in 2021 with the infamous r/WallStreetBets GameStop (NYSE: GME) surge, the number of retail investors actively participating in stock trades has figuratively exploded. Retail investors, casual, often younger investors executing small trades using apps such as Robinhood or Stockpile, have become a driving force of the market's recent success, purchasing $172 billion in equity in Q1 alone. Many purchases, however, are towards so-called "meme" stocks, such as GameStop, which are often determined by social media, as demonstrated by the recent market setbacks faced by Orphazyme (NASDAQ: ORPH) and its investors, however, investing in a meme stock is just as risky as it is lucrative.
According to Goldman Sachs, that boom is only going to get much larger going forward. While, of course, this means that meme stocks such as Orphazyme and GameStop may be subject to more volatility, it also means that the market could receive an estimated $500 billion injection from securities purchases through the end of 2021. Could, though, is the operative word here.
"[Kostin] ultimately expects more households is just come up there and continue buying the market, because the market remains near at all-time highs. And it's not just households. And Kostin has been writing about this extensively. It's these corporations continuing to buy back a good portion of their stock. So he does see two potential catalysts, he just doesn't come out definitively and say, hey, these are going to help power the market to a new record high by year end," said Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi, giving his take on Goldman Sachs Chief U.S. Equity Strategist David Kostin's notes.
The prospect of a significant presence of retail investment could be a boon to US investors from now on. Still, the inherent risks that come with "meme stocks" and purchases not based on company financial health leave a great many obstacles to any hoping to game the market. Going forward, however, retail investment may become more stable over time as younger investors learn the nature of the stock market, albeit by a risk-laden "trial by fire" method.