Around 1.69 million share investors in the UK are spending more time in chat rooms talking about their investment ideas.
The average investor is spending four-and-a-half hours a week in chatrooms with some spending up to 20 hours a week.
GraniteShares, an exchange-traded product provider which sponsored the research, said chatrooms such as the subreddit WallStreetBets have become “increasingly influential potentially driving up US share prices”.
Younger investors are more likely to be chatroom members with 28% of under-25s saying they are members and 17% of those aged 25 to 34. By contrast no over-55s say they are members of chatrooms.
Just over half of regular share traders are using their cash savings to fund some of their share buying while 37% are funding their trading out of their salary. Just one in 12 (8%) are using credit cards while 8% admit they have dipped into savings set aside for a big event such as a wedding.
Around 5% are funding trading with benefits.
Will Rhind, CEO at GraniteShares said: “Investment chat rooms have become famous because of WallStreetBets, and the meme stock phenomenon. It is interesting to see so many chatroom users in the UK. The growing interest in share trading during the Covid-19 pandemic has meant more people trading more regularly. Our research shows that users find that chatrooms can be a good source of support and advice for members.
“The risk however is that people rely too much on information appearing in chatrooms and don’t do their homework properly by understanding the product or stock they’re buying.”
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