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Berlin / Frankfurt (dpa) - More and more young people are shedding their inhibitions about the financial markets and diving into the world of stocks, ETFs or crypto currencies.
They get information on Instagram and YouTube, trade via smartphone app and jump on hypes like the one around the US video game provider Gamestop.
Trading has become a lifestyle for some.
It is by no means all young investors who are interested in gambling.
The Deutsches Aktieninstitut (DAI) recorded around 600,000 new stock savers under the age of 30 for the Corona year 2020. Measured against the population, this is still little, but it means an increase of 67 percent in this age group compared to the previous year.
In view of low interest rates and further increases in share prices after the Corona crash, German equity culture is currently experiencing a general boost.
But in no other age group has the number of shareholders increased so strongly.
How did that happen?
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Thomas Kehl is perhaps partly responsible for this development.
The 31-year-old has been explaining everything about finances and wealth accumulation on the YouTube channel “Finanzfluss” for more than five years.
Almost 700,000 subscribers follow the channel, and the number has more than doubled since the beginning of the Corona crisis.
“It has never been easier to get financial knowledge than it is today,” says Kehl, who used to work as an investment banker.
If you look around on Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok or Twitch, you will find an almost infinite amount of information.
Several influencers, sometimes with hundreds of thousands of followers, explain the basics of the stock market, give easy-to-use tips on opening a custody account and savings plans, or analyze individual stocks.
The channels are called “Aktien mit Kopf” or “Madame Moneypenny”.
“The topic has now just got out of the dry, dusty corner,” says Margarethe Honisch from the financial blog “Fortunalista”.
Because stock market knowledge is available everywhere, many more people have the courage to take their finances into their own hands.
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The Aktieninstitut is pleased about the new information offers: "The stock culture in Germany can only benefit from it," says DAI boss Christine Bortenlänger.
Given the lack of economic education in schools, there is “a real need”.
In general, the information gap between private investors and institutional players has become smaller as a result of such formats, says Jürgen Kurz, the spokesman for the German Protection Association for Securities Ownership (DSW). However, he points out: "You have to distinguish between serious information on asset accumulation and some market crawlers who push individual stocks mainly because they have them in their portfolio and would like to get rid of them at a good price."
Not only is access to information easier.
Access to the stock market is easier than ever: with stock market apps, for example, you can start trading after a few clicks and video identification.
"The whole thing has a playful character and I do believe that a lot of young people take advantage of these offers," says Kurz.
Consumer advocates warn, however, not to let the playful presentation tempt you to gamble.
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What do the boys actually want in the stock market?
The price rallies for Gamestop and other stocks recently highlighted the young trading scene.
Even the hype about fun currencies such as Dogecoin does not initially lead to the assumption that those involved are interested in long-term retirement provision.
“I have the feeling that the responsible investing community is the bigger one,” says Youtuber Kehl. Many initially started with slightly less risky ETFs (exchange-traded funds). Lately, however, there has also been increasing interest in individual stocks or crypto currencies such as Bitcoin. The figures of the Aktieninstitut show: The newly arrived shareholders under 30 reached about the same weight for stocks and funds. And in the group under 40, only one in four put only individual shares in the custody account.
DAI boss Bortenlänger recommends four things to young shareholders: Build up reserves beforehand, invest the money widely, invest continuously and stick with it for the long term.
According to experts, the last point in particular will be the baptism of fire for the newly burgeoning stock culture, because: The young have not yet experienced a crash.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210428-99-381172 / 2
DAI on shareholder numbers 2020
Financial flow
Financial Flow - Youtube
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Fortunalista
Financial heroines - Instagram
Headed stocks - Youtube
Caminvesta - Tiktok
Financial literacy - Tiktok
Madame Moneypenny - Instagram
ECB annual report with reference to influencer cooperations
Archived version of Financial Flow dated February 2020