GameStop lessons for ASX investors

Adam Smith, CEO at Saxo Capital Markets Australia, says the GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) phenomenon has been “lighting a fire under the growing retail investor sector”.

You’ve most likely heard of the so-called Reddit army. They’re the unofficially affiliated group of retail investors, recently linked together via Reddit’s WallStreetBets and other social media.

In mid-January, the group took exception to certain hedge funds shorting certain stocks. (That’s where you make money when a company’s share price falls.) To squeeze out the short-sellers, the Reddit army snapped up shares of some of the most shorted stocks in the US markets.

Two of the shares that got the most media attention, due to their wild price gains and…