Getting Drunk, Buying Stocks

Written By Jimmy Mengel

Posted August 26, 2021

Hello Outsiders,

Do you get drunk?

Sometimes, all the time, none of the time? It’s fine…

Until it isn’t.

If you do — and I’m guilty as charged — I would recommend that you don’t invest while doing so. I actually have been quite successful doing so somehow. But I’ve also made some seriously bad decisions…

I once got drunk and bought too many shares in a mining penny stock. It went to zero.

But I once got drunk and did a day’s worth of yard work. I figured that it was a good time to buy Home Depot stock. I’m up 132% on my own and — more importantly — my Crow’s Nest portfolio. So if you do decide to take a tipple off the nipple, please invest in something you know and understand.

Such debased things are happening now more than ever…

A new survey from consumer finance website Magnify Money found that 32% of U.S. investors have made trades while drunk. That sounds charitable, based on some drunk conversations I’ve had with high-net worth people. We had drinks, and they all had stories about bad decisions they made while under the influence of the devil’s brew.

They were typically older, and still had their wits about them.

Gen-Z, however, had a 59% rate for drunk trading, due to Robinhood and inexperience. The survey found that 66% of all Americans admit to making impulsive investing decisions.

The boomers are only saying 9%. Liars…

I don’t blame any of them, though. It’s the equivalent of swiping right on some dating app in the late hours of the night.

“The app’s simplicity and graphic design make trading feel like gaming. The platform has drawn in young investors by presenting complex financial instruments like a fun game,” the Addiction Center wrote in a post. “Unfortunately, financial experts believe that instead of helping users, the app is purposely downplaying trading risks. They suspect it to be a method to get users hooked to their platform.”

“When a new member joins the platform, an image of a digital scratch-off lottery ticket pops up on their screen. The picture is a welcome stub, a gift for joining Robinhood’s community. The app’s stub promises a free share of stock worth anywhere from $2.50 to $200. If the new trader wants the prize, they have to play by ‘scratching off’ the image like a lotto ticket,” the Addiction Center explained.

That is what you want to avoid…

I asked around the office and heard about a bunch of interesting stories in this vein. I will allow them to remain nameless, but here are a couple of the office Slack chats I had:

i drunkenly bought NOK while taking a piss at the wisp ski lodge… lost 12.7% on the trade.. just sold it on like tuesday haha

M