Technology
[Interactive] Riding the Nasdaq Roller Coaster
[Interactive] Riding the Nasdaq Roller Coaster
Investors know that there is nothing like a good old-fashioned stock bubble to provide the ride of a lifetime.
Fifteen years after the dotcom bust, the Nasdaq Composite has passed all-time highs again. The WSJ has put together a fantastic interactive 3D roller coaster ride that goes through the highs and lows of the index until today.
The interactive visualization literally puts you in a chair as it gets lifted up the very first hill (The dotcom bubble), as market news flashes by on the side. It allows you full control to start and stop, and to enjoy the ride.
The timing of this interactive ride is impeccable. As the Financial Times points out, not only is the Nasdaq setting records in terms of overall value, but it is also closing in on being worth more than the broad eurozone market in dollar terms. This is in the context of zero-rates, dwindling economic data out of the United States, QE in Europe, continuous strife in the Middle East, and a Grexit scenario potentially unfolding before our eyes.
The real question is: how long until we fall off the next roller coaster drop?
Until then, enjoy the ride.
Markets
Charted: What are Retail Investors Interested in Buying in 2023?
What key themes and strategies are retail investors looking at for the rest of 2023? Preview: AI is a popular choice.
Charted: Retail Investors’ Top Picks for 2023
U.S. retail investors, enticed by a brief pause in the interest rate cycle, came roaring back in the early summer. But what are their investment priorities for the second half of 2023?
We visualized the data from Public’s 2023 Retail Investor Report, which surveyed 1,005 retail investors on their platform, asking “which investment strategy or themes are you interested in as part of your overall investment strategy?”
Survey respondents ticked all the options that applied to them, thus their response percentages do not sum to 100%.
Where Are Retail Investors Putting Their Money?
By far the most popular strategy for retail investors is dividend investing with 50% of the respondents selecting it as something they’re interested in.
Dividends can help supplement incomes and come with tax benefits (especially for lower income investors or if the dividend is paid out into a tax-deferred account), and can be a popular choice during more inflationary times.
| Investment Strategy | Percent of Respondents |
|---|---|
| Dividend Investing | 50% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 36% |
| Total Stock Market Index | 36% |
| Renewable Energy | 33% |
| Big Tech | 31% |
| Treasuries (T-Bills) | 31% |
| Electric Vehicles | 27% |
| Large Cap | 26% |
| Small Cap | 24% |
| Emerging Markets | 23% |
| Real Estate | 23% |
| Gold & Precious Metals | 23% |
| Mid Cap | 19% |
| Inflation Protection | 13% |
| Commodities | 12% |
Meanwhile, the hype around AI hasn’t faded, with 36% of the respondents saying they’d be interested in investing in the theme—including juggernaut chipmaker Nvidia. This is tied for second place with Total Stock Market Index investing.
Treasury Bills (30%) represent the safety anchoring of the portfolio but the ongoing climate crisis is also on investors’ minds with Renewable Energy (33%) and EVs (27%) scoring fairly high on the interest list.
Commodities and Inflation-Protection stocks on the other hand have fallen out of favor.
Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party…
Another interesting takeaway pulled from the survey is how conversations about prevailing companies—or the buzz around them—are influencing trades. The platform found that public investors in Mattel increased 6.6 times after the success of the ‘Barbie’ movie.
Bud Light also saw a 1.5x increase in retail investors, despite receiving negative attention from their fans after the company did a beer promotion campaign with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Given the origin story of a large chunk of American retail investors revolves around GameStop and AMC, these insights aren’t new, but they do reveal a persisting trend.
-
Maps3 weeks agoMapped: The Deadliest Earthquakes of the 21st Century
-
Energy1 week agoCharted: The World’s Biggest Oil Producers
-
Energy3 weeks agoWhat Electricity Sources Power the World?
-
Technology6 days agoWhich Companies Own the Most Satellites?
-
Markets3 weeks agoThe 25 Worst Stocks by Shareholder Wealth Losses (1926-2022)
-
Mining5 days ago200 Years of Global Gold Production, by Country
-
Demographics4 weeks agoCharted: Youth Unemployment in the OECD and China
-
Technology2 weeks agoVisualizing Google’s Search Engine Market Share