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-: The way retail investors engage with stock markets
and financial advice,
is completely different than it was even 10 years ago.
In the last couple years we've gone to
zero commission trading,
which makes it easier than ever before
to do a lot of trading,
even if that's not in your best interest.
These days, you don't even have to call up your broker,
pay large commissions in order to trade,
all you have to do is enter your stock information
into your app, and you can do that 24 hours a day.
It's sometimes too easy to trade stocks,
and that can get people into a lot of hot water.
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And so my research on securities law
focuses on how we can design rules that encourage people
to invest for the right reasons,
in ways that are gonna help achieve their financial goals,
and grow the real economy.
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So two of my projects in the last year are focused
on the role of gamified investing,
and meme stocks in retail investor behavior.
Gamification is the use of app interface design
in ways that encourage people to engage more with some app.
So in the case of a stock trading app,
that might mean leader boards,
or confetti across the screen,
that gets you to come back and trade more,
even if research shows that trading a lot
isn't necessarily good for you.
Meme stocks are a kind of corporate stock
that are really popular among internet based traders.
People coordinate about their trades online
through Twitter, or Reddit, other social media,
making it more of a game-like experience.
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The ultimate goal of my research is to make sure
that we can broaden participation in capital markets,
and to ensure that investors are protected
while we are encouraging the right kinds of investments
that are gonna grow the real economy.
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