December 23, 2024 • 9 mins
Chris explores the growing issue of trading addiction fueled by apps like Robinhood and the allure of meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. Drawing parallels to gambling, he critiques financial media and personalities, including Jim Cramer, for promoting a day-trading culture. Markowski emphasizes the importance of informed investing over speculative risk-taking, sharing insights from his 25-year career. www.watchdogonwallstreet.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The stock market and gambling addiction. Hm, well, there's a
story that hit late last week. More men are addicted
to the and they called it the crack cocaine of
the stock market. Gambler's anonymous meetings are filling up with
(00:36):
people hooked on trading and betting apps make it as
easy as ordering takeout. Oh man, you know the world
one big c I told you so a moment. As
far as we're concerned here, we told you this was
going to happen. It was inevitable with the various different
(01:00):
and trading apps, what they were going to turn into it.
It's nothing new, though. It's nothing new again. The Wall
Street Journal is presenting this. They're probably the author, probably
just too young to remember. Back to the nineteen nineties
in the dot com run up, new type of addict
is showing up at Gambler's anonymous meetings across the country.
(01:20):
Investors hooked on the market's riskiest trades at Gambler's anonymous
in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. One man called
options the crack cocaine of the stock market. Another said
he faced hundreds of thousands of dollars in trading losses
after borrowing from a loane shark to double down on stocks,
(01:41):
and one young man brought his mom and girlfriend to
celebrate one year since his last bet trade whatever you
want to call it, borrowing from a loan shark to
double down on stocks. And we're going to take you
(02:01):
back in time to when I first started in the business,
and it was a big broker on the floor of
the trading floor, and this guy was the guy could
sell ice to the eskimos, and he delved into a
lot of risky, risky stocks, in particular companies that had
(02:27):
a widespread on the NASDAC you make a fortune. And
I remember him and he was just bragging on the
fact how he got clients of his to take out
home equity loans to buy these pieces of crap companies
to make the stuff up. If I wanted to again,
I'm going to circle back to the nineteen nineties. Yeah,
(02:50):
it wasn't on your phone. No smartphones back then, no
smartphones back then, no apps back then. They most certainly
had discount investment houses. E Trade Center in Midtown Manhattan
was basically a casino casino in Midtown Manhattan. People would
(03:10):
go there during their lunch hour in trade. Trade Trade. Yeah,
I remember the guy who was Katsakos was his name,
the guy who originally started E Trade and he had
his book that was out there. Oh, get control of
your money and you're gonna do it, and you know
right sure. Anyway, back to the gamblers anonymous in Murray
(03:32):
Hill in Manhattan, group of about sixty people sat in
rows and metal chairs, talked about addictions, not just on
sports apps or the Las Vegas casino, but using brokerage
apps like Robin Hood. Again. I was about twelve years ago,
(03:53):
twelve fifteen years ago, we were approached. I was approached about,
you know, doing an online app and using the Watchdog
on Wall Street Show to promote it, and I said no,
I said no, Why, Well, the same I guess the
(04:15):
same reason why in many of the same reason why.
It's that kind of you know, raveto corleone, uh, not
wanting to get involved in drugs. Well, I knew exactly
what this would turn into, right, I knew, remember what
was its sunny? A lot of money that white power
powder pop. But he knew, he knew that, he admitted
(04:38):
even they said that it was going to be the
end of us and what they did and I went wrong. Yeah,
a lot of money in it. But I have a
fiduciary responsibility to my clients. And you know, I knew
well and good that people would do really stupid things
with their money, just like they always have. Hear me
(05:01):
think about that, and every think of all the online
trading house is going back. He has to going back
to the nineties E Trade and Merit Trade, DLJ Direct, Robinhood,
all of these various different things. Don't you think if
people were actually really making money on those apps, they
would publicize that. Every study that's been done, every study
(05:23):
that's been done looking into these accounts, the overwhelming majority
of people lose, and lose big anyway. Many of the
men and again these groups right now discovered trading and
betting during the pandemic boom. They were drawn in by
big wins and the meme stock and other viral stock sensations,
(05:43):
leading them into even higher octane wagers that offer the
chance to put up a small amount of cash for
potentially mammoth return or crushing loss. Others bought and sold
cryptocurrencies on apps that make trading as easy as ordering
takeout on Uber Eats or toiletries on Amazon. At an
(06:04):
age where sports betting has become an accepted pastime, accessible
by the flick of a thumb on an iPhone app,
they found the same rush betting on Dogi coin Tesla
or in Nvidia as wagering on Patrick Mahomes to carry
the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl Again a
(06:26):
blow lengthy column, doctors and counselors say they're seeing more
cases of compulsive gambling and financial markets or an uncontrolled
urge to bet. Listen again, I'm here to tell you
that this is not new. It's not new. I've been around.
People continue to do really stupid things with their money. Again.
(06:47):
That's just why I've been on the air for twenty
five years, trying very hard to get people to see
things the right way. The funny thing. The funny thing
for me was seeing Jim Kramer on Friday. I didn't
watch a show, had the clip sent over on his
program warning warning novices against day trading. We need to
(07:12):
help those are getting addicted. We need to stop those
who might become addicted. After all, the markets were created
for investing, not day trading on the direction of stocks.
There's a big difference between making an informed investment and
pure gambling. Yeah, Jim, you work for c NBC. You
(07:33):
have television shows that are called fast Money. Your show
is Mad Money. Go sell your nonsense somewhere else. Jim
Kramer had a radio show at the same time when
I got started, and it was all by sell hold action,
(07:59):
moving in now again. If you watched his show, bye
bye bye. I mean, come on, man, who you're trying
the kid here? Yeah, I've talked about this before. I say,
you know, we on a weekly basis, we get into
financial preparation, financial planning issues, and it's not exciting stuff,
(08:22):
but it works. Okay, your networks are you're trying to
get people to do stupid things with your money. That's
good for business for you, guys. It's great for ratings. Okay,
you're on your twenty four hour business news. Your whole
goal is to get people going in different directions. I've
(08:45):
been there, man. Okay, the little earpieces that you wear. Well,
you don't think that the producers in your ear wanting
you to argue with people up there and you know,
take hard positions. I don't do it that once, not
once in my entire career have I ever told somebody
to buy something, hold something, or sell something on air. Never, never,
(09:12):
anyway again. It's the right way and there's the wrong way.
Watchdog on Wall Street dot Com
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
The stock market and gambling addiction. Hm, well, there's a
story that hit late last week. More men are addicted
to the and they called it the crack cocaine of
the stock market. Gambler's anonymous meetings are filling up with
(00:36):
people hooked on trading and betting apps make it as
easy as ordering takeout. Oh man, you know the world
one big c I told you so a moment. As
far as we're concerned here, we told you this was
going to happen. It was inevitable with the various different
(01:00):
and trading apps, what they were going to turn into it.
It's nothing new, though. It's nothing new again. The Wall
Street Journal is presenting this. They're probably the author, probably
just too young to remember. Back to the nineteen nineties
in the dot com run up, new type of addict
is showing up at Gambler's anonymous meetings across the country.
(01:20):
Investors hooked on the market's riskiest trades at Gambler's anonymous
in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. One man called
options the crack cocaine of the stock market. Another said
he faced hundreds of thousands of dollars in trading losses
after borrowing from a loane shark to double down on stocks,
(01:41):
and one young man brought his mom and girlfriend to
celebrate one year since his last bet trade whatever you
want to call it, borrowing from a loan shark to
double down on stocks. And we're going to take you
(02:01):
back in time to when I first started in the business,
and it was a big broker on the floor of
the trading floor, and this guy was the guy could
sell ice to the eskimos, and he delved into a
lot of risky, risky stocks, in particular companies that had
(02:27):
a widespread on the NASDAC you make a fortune. And
I remember him and he was just bragging on the
fact how he got clients of his to take out
home equity loans to buy these pieces of crap companies
to make the stuff up. If I wanted to again,
I'm going to circle back to the nineteen nineties. Yeah,
(02:50):
it wasn't on your phone. No smartphones back then, no
smartphones back then, no apps back then. They most certainly
had discount investment houses. E Trade Center in Midtown Manhattan
was basically a casino casino in Midtown Manhattan. People would
(03:10):
go there during their lunch hour in trade. Trade Trade. Yeah,
I remember the guy who was Katsakos was his name,
the guy who originally started E Trade and he had
his book that was out there. Oh, get control of
your money and you're gonna do it, and you know
right sure. Anyway, back to the gamblers anonymous in Murray
(03:32):
Hill in Manhattan, group of about sixty people sat in
rows and metal chairs, talked about addictions, not just on
sports apps or the Las Vegas casino, but using brokerage
apps like Robin Hood. Again. I was about twelve years ago,
(03:53):
twelve fifteen years ago, we were approached. I was approached about,
you know, doing an online app and using the Watchdog
on Wall Street Show to promote it, and I said no,
I said no, Why, Well, the same I guess the
(04:15):
same reason why in many of the same reason why.
It's that kind of you know, raveto corleone, uh, not
wanting to get involved in drugs. Well, I knew exactly
what this would turn into, right, I knew, remember what
was its sunny? A lot of money that white power
powder pop. But he knew, he knew that, he admitted
(04:38):
even they said that it was going to be the
end of us and what they did and I went wrong. Yeah,
a lot of money in it. But I have a
fiduciary responsibility to my clients. And you know, I knew
well and good that people would do really stupid things
with their money, just like they always have. Hear me
(05:01):
think about that, and every think of all the online
trading house is going back. He has to going back
to the nineties E Trade and Merit Trade, DLJ Direct, Robinhood,
all of these various different things. Don't you think if
people were actually really making money on those apps, they
would publicize that. Every study that's been done, every study
(05:23):
that's been done looking into these accounts, the overwhelming majority
of people lose, and lose big anyway. Many of the
men and again these groups right now discovered trading and
betting during the pandemic boom. They were drawn in by
big wins and the meme stock and other viral stock sensations,
(05:43):
leading them into even higher octane wagers that offer the
chance to put up a small amount of cash for
potentially mammoth return or crushing loss. Others bought and sold
cryptocurrencies on apps that make trading as easy as ordering
takeout on Uber Eats or toiletries on Amazon. At an
(06:04):
age where sports betting has become an accepted pastime, accessible
by the flick of a thumb on an iPhone app,
they found the same rush betting on Dogi coin Tesla
or in Nvidia as wagering on Patrick Mahomes to carry
the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl Again a
(06:26):
blow lengthy column, doctors and counselors say they're seeing more
cases of compulsive gambling and financial markets or an uncontrolled
urge to bet. Listen again, I'm here to tell you
that this is not new. It's not new. I've been around.
People continue to do really stupid things with their money. Again.
(06:47):
That's just why I've been on the air for twenty
five years, trying very hard to get people to see
things the right way. The funny thing. The funny thing
for me was seeing Jim Kramer on Friday. I didn't
watch a show, had the clip sent over on his
program warning warning novices against day trading. We need to
(07:12):
help those are getting addicted. We need to stop those
who might become addicted. After all, the markets were created
for investing, not day trading on the direction of stocks.
There's a big difference between making an informed investment and
pure gambling. Yeah, Jim, you work for c NBC. You
(07:33):
have television shows that are called fast Money. Your show
is Mad Money. Go sell your nonsense somewhere else. Jim
Kramer had a radio show at the same time when
I got started, and it was all by sell hold action,
(07:59):
moving in now again. If you watched his show, bye
bye bye. I mean, come on, man, who you're trying
the kid here? Yeah, I've talked about this before. I say,
you know, we on a weekly basis, we get into
financial preparation, financial planning issues, and it's not exciting stuff,
(08:22):
but it works. Okay, your networks are you're trying to
get people to do stupid things with your money. That's
good for business for you, guys. It's great for ratings. Okay,
you're on your twenty four hour business news. Your whole
goal is to get people going in different directions. I've
(08:45):
been there, man. Okay, the little earpieces that you wear. Well,
you don't think that the producers in your ear wanting
you to argue with people up there and you know,
take hard positions. I don't do it that once, not
once in my entire career have I ever told somebody
to buy something, hold something, or sell something on air. Never, never,
(09:12):
anyway again. It's the right way and there's the wrong way.
Watchdog on Wall Street dot Com
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