The Intenet vs Hedge Fund

[TheDemonLord]

This is something a little bit more light-hearted (depending on your perspective)

But I wish to draw your attention to the current Meme that is GameStop Stocks.

The TL;DR version is a multi-billion dollar Hedgefund looked at the Gamestop stocks (which have been falling ever since Steam killed off brick-and-mortar Game stores for PC Gaming) and placed a whole bunch of Short options on it. Expecting the stock to plummet and for them to make a lot of money....

The a particular SubReddit saw this and said 'No, Fuck that' and decided to buy Gamestop Stocks and inflate the price.... Then others joined in... And others.... The stock has experienced a near vertical growth spike, making some of those early investors quite rich.

Oh and the Multi-Billion dollar hedge fund? Yeah... they lost about $5 BILLION thanks to a bunch of pissed off Redditors and gamers who decided to pick a fight, make a Meme and stick it to the 'Elites'.

Now - many of you know, I'm a proud capitalist - I don't complain when Big companies do certain things (that are legal) to make a profit, however seeing all the crying by those same Groups/People when it was done to them - that has been a delicious twist of Irony.

Feel free to read more: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=gamestop+stock

[mulletman]

I heard it on the radio (RDU !!) going to work this morn.

[pritch]

The stock market goings on made the TV1 News tonight. I'm not sure what the final verdict will be but the various manoeuvres have provoked outrage by some, or amusement by others who are not affected. A win for the small guys would be nice, but God tends to favour the big battalions.

Then there's Brent Terhune's take. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk5oX8Yis3Q

[R650R]

Will be interesting to see how this plays out...

You have to wonder how many internet nerds were cashed up and connected to buy shares instantly based on the rants of someone on a forum....
And would that be enough to compete against the big money of Wall Street and their high frequency trading auto buy supercomputers....

Is this the prelude to Dark Winter 2021... Biden mentioned it again in a speech headed into a Dark Winter....
Setting the stage for the public to believe that a tactical buying spree by the little men of the world could take down a corporate giant. Gillette did lose 7 billion due to men boycotting sales after toxic masculinity ads but this is different....

Fast forward a group of republican/Trump voters do a dump and run on big tech shares over their perceived censorship of Trump etc.... Caught in the crossfire are telecom and internet providers who go bust overnight and disable their services. Next power companies shut down due to phase differences and inability to communicate between sites shutting down the grid, welcome to Dark Winter 2021....
Zombie hordes of pastie white autistic teenagers emerge from basements at night wandering the streets in a daze seeking g wifi hotspots but there are none. A brief civil war starts but martial law is quickly enacted but not before many burn in their homes or are gunned down outside curfew hours by Apache gunships.

Afterwards the govt enacts Chinese style control of the second generation of the internet where you log in with a digital ID even just to view the web. A digital social credit score is assigned based on sights visited and stories liked. People click like on anything allowing the govt unprecedented control to do anything.

Dark Winter 2021 you have been forewarned....

[onearmedbandit]

You have to wonder how many internet nerds were cashed up and connected to buy shares instantly based on the rants of someone on a forum....


It's quite amazing actually, it appears that cashed up people with connections also have access to the internet and belong to forums etc.

[pritch]

You have to wonder how many internet nerds were cashed up and connected to buy shares instantly based on the rants of someone on a forum....


This was all done through stock trading apps. The main one was RobinHood which waited until they were showing number 1 in the Apple App Store then restricted trading. The small investors don't have much clout but they apparenty ensured RobinHood now has a one star rating. There are similar apps available from the NZ app store but it seems RobinHood is not one of them.

The small traders was described as a flashmob with cash. There have been some petulant outbursts by hedge fund managers but it's an ill wind...
https://www.lintelligencer.com/jaydyn-carr-texas-boy-10-cashes-in-his-old-gamestop-shares-for-thousands-12082-2021/

[R650R]

The small traders was described as a flashmob with cash. There have been some petulant outbursts by hedge fund managers but it's an ill wind...
https://www.lintelligencer.com/jaydyn-carr-texas-boy-10-cashes-in-his-old-gamestop-shares-for-thousands-12082-2021/

Soon to be described as economic terrorists no doubt....

All part of the great reset to crash economies to usher in the new normal... of this type of tactical buying by ordinary people it will cause mayhem as everyone tries to profit.
Surely it invokes insider trading type crimes of coordinated groups are trading with a set goal.

[pete376403]

Soon to be described as economic terrorists no doubt....


Surely it invokes insider trading type crimes of coordinated groups are trading with a set goal.


Whats the difference between this and what hedge funds do? Do they not have a set goal, betting on the failure of the stock they own?

[Jeeper]

Reading comments above, I'm surprised how misunderstood financial markets are on this forum.

[Jeeper]

Whats the difference between this and what hedge funds do? Do they not have a set goal, betting on the failure of the stock they own?And what the retail investors have done is bet against the hedge fund by buying the stocks before hedge becomes due. It's a simple case of supply and demand at the moment. Neither activity is actually illegal.

[Jeeper]

This was all done through stock trading apps. The main one was RobinHood which waited until they were showing number 1 in the Apple App Store then restricted trading. The small investors don't have much clout but they apparenty ensured RobinHood now has a one star rating. There are similar apps available from the NZ app store but it seems RobinHood is not one of them.

The small traders was described as a flashmob with cash. There have been some petulant outbursts by hedge fund managers but it's an ill wind...
https://www.lintelligencer.com/jaydyn-carr-texas-boy-10-cashes-in-his-old-gamestop-shares-for-thousands-12082-2021/You can buy shares without apps. You can simply use the web or call your broker.

[pritch]

You can buy shares without apps. You can simply use the web or call your broker.

That's true but irrelevant. The US Reddit activists were reportedly using the RobinHood app, a very small minority would have had a broker.

[Jeeper]

That's true but irrelevant. The US Reddit activists were reportedly using the RobinHood app, a very small minority would have had a broker.It's not irrelevant because I don't believe you understand how buying shares works in the 21st century. You can use a web account (with ASB Securities in NZ) or an app (Sharesies, Hatch, and few others in NZ as well). Robinhood is just like one of these services. There is nothing special about them. An app is just an electronic broker.

[pritch]

It's not irrelevant because I don't believe you understand how buying shares works in the 21st century. You can use a web account (with ASB Securities in NZ) or an app (Sharesies, Hatch, and few others in NZ as well). Robinhood is just like one of these services. There is nothing special about them. An app is just an electronic broker.

I suggested it was irrelevant because that wasn't how it was done. There reportedly were people in this country who particiapated in the action, but most were overseas and were not thought to be regular investors.

[Jeeper]

I suggested it was irrelevant because that wasn't how it was done. There reportedly were people in this country who particiapated in the action, but most were overseas and were not thought to be regular investors.Actually, Robinhood was just one of the platforms used to buy shares. What other action do you think happen? RH promoted itself to be investor friendly hence people used. DFV research had actually started 6 months ago, and that's when he posted it. All the information he used is publicly available as hedge funds have to file certain reports regularly. Nothing special about what is going on, other than the fact that hedge fund position on GME was 140%. And DFV called them out on it and played the game (opposite position taken). 140% position is the dumb part in this saga.

[mashman]

Soros did it in 1992 with an entire country. It likely happens far more often than is reported and is a fantastic waste of human talent.

[Jeeper]

Soros did it in 1992 with an entire country. It likely happens far more often than is reported and is a fantastic waste of human talent.Soros played with currency hedges, that's a little different. But just proves that one person can be difference between a good day or a bad day.

Seriously speaking, if it was a billionaire investor who had played this game (instead of many retail investors) and made profit (or ended up buying out GME completely). That billionaire would be hailed a hero, a savvy investor. It's only a problem when someone else figures out how the game is played by hedge funds, and then use it against them.

I enjoy the stock market and what it has to offer, but do not agree with the hedge fund philosophy. We are not allowed to sell something we don't own, but it's legal for hedge funds to do. I understand the logic behind it, but it needs more checks and balances than what is available in US at present.

[mashman]

Soros played with currency hedges, that's a little different. But just proves that one person can be difference between a good day or a bad day.

Seriously speaking, if it was a billionaire investor who had played this game (instead of many retail investors) and made profit (or ended up buying out GME completely). That billionaire would be hailed a hero, a savvy investor. It's only a problem when someone else figures out how the game is played by hedge funds, and then use it against them.

I enjoy the stock market and what it has to offer, but do not agree with the hedge fund philosophy. We are not allowed to sell something we don't own, but it's legal for hedge funds to do. I understand the logic behind it, but it needs more checks and balances than what is available in US at present.

A short is a result, was more my point. Lots of ways to do achieve one no doubt as it's all about knocking/enhancing confidence enough to make things go your way innit (cryptos/stocks/financial instrument etc... all gameable where the numbers exist.)... but as you say, likely ever so slightly frowned upon for the Robin Hoods (not the gamestop crowds) of the world.

[TheDemonLord]

Soros played with currency hedges, that's a little different. But just proves that one person can be difference between a good day or a bad day.

Seriously speaking, if it was a billionaire investor who had played this game (instead of many retail investors) and made profit (or ended up buying out GME completely). That billionaire would be hailed a hero, a savvy investor. It's only a problem when someone else figures out how the game is played by hedge funds, and then use it against them.

I enjoy the stock market and what it has to offer, but do not agree with the hedge fund philosophy. We are not allowed to sell something we don't own, but it's legal for hedge funds to do. I understand the logic behind it, but it needs more checks and balances than what is available in US at present.

I've no problem per se with the way they operate now, the part I have a problem with is the Hedge Funds crying when the same tactics they use are deployed against them.

[Jeeper]

I've no problem per se with the way they operate now, the part I have a problem with is the Hedge Funds crying when the same tactics they use are deployed against them.Institutional investors, pension funds and such use hedge fund returns to make money. They are not common in NZ and Australia, but they certainly do exist.