Is the stock market a form of entertainment?
I went on Robinhood, the popular stock-trading app, to find out.
You’ve probably heard of it, even if you aren’t among the 13 million people already using it. Robinhood makes trading stocks, options and cryptocurrencies fun and exciting, and analysts have attributed some of this year’s skyrocketing stock prices to novice Robinhood traders.
My editor and I decided that I should see what the fuss is all about. I started trading on Robinhood on Oct. 27, expensing my $100 investment. Any profits I made would go to charity; any losses would go toward public humiliation. I closed all my positions on Nov. 17.
My editor ordered me to try making as much money as possible as fast as possible, to become part of the momentum-investing crowd. That called for a makeover. I’d have to become the polar opposite of the patient, research-intensive, risk-averse investor I’ve always been.
