Have you noticed an increase in "shoeshiners" giving stock tips?

[HPstache]

There is an anecdote from the the times leading up to the great depression that went something like this:

The atmosphere of the late '20s (financially speaking at least) can be summed up in the following (likely apocryphal) anecdote. In the winter of 1928, Joe Kennedy decided to stop to have his shoes shined before he started his day's work at the office. When the boy finished, he offered Kennedy a stock tip: "Buy Hindenburg." Kennedy soon sold off his stocks, thinking: “You know it's time to sell when shoeshine boys give you stock tips. This bull market is over.”

It is important to not that I am not "Calling a top" and I am not saying a crash is necessarily looming.  That being said, has anyone else noticed that people who gave zero cares about investing for years are suddenly buzzing about investing?  We had our annual 401K meeting yesterday and it was a completely different atmosphere than any of the previous 7 yearly meetings I had been to.  Everyone was comparing YTD returns with each other and talking about their hot stock tips and such.  So weird...

[BobTheBuilder]

I guess a part of that might be attributed to the interwebs... It is easier to learn about stuff nowadays. But yes, could be an early warning :-D
At least most people I know still pay more attention to what they might lose rather than gain in the stock markets (including some mentions of: "all rigged", "game of chance",...)

[bacchi]

I mentioned elsewhere that I noticed this before the dot bomb. Random people were going to retire millionaires from the pets.com IPO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com

The irrationality lasted longer than expected, though, so a short position was dangerous. I'll stick to my IPS.

[FireDAD]

About two weeks ago I was shopping with a friend in Costco and we were discussing this exact story and how I felt that way about bitcoin and other crypto. In perfect comedic timing the Costco employee giving out samples overheard us say Crypto and told us how he invests all his savings and tried to tell us all about his coin public offerings.

This just felt like the push I need to get out of crypto currency.

[HPstache]

I mentioned elsewhere that I noticed this before the dot bomb. Random people were going to retire millionaires from the pets.com IPO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com

The irrationality lasted longer than expected, though, so a short position was dangerous. I'll stick to my IPS.

I work with a guy that I actually do really respect in terms of investing and I we were talking after the meeting about the change in tune from so many of the employees.  He is getting close to 50 years old so he lived and invested thru the dot com crash and he said something offhand like, "yeah, people were talking similarly right before the dot com crash".  I'm playing the slow and steady game, but you gotta wonder...

[ixtap]

No, but I have noticed a decided uptick in the Cash this check for a low low interest loan offers.

[Laura Ingalls]

I remember people engaging in more stock talk in 1999 and 2000 than currently.  I know people that had small e-trade brokerage accounts with individual stocks that have zero taxable accounts currently.   I know exactly one person IRL that has crypto.  I don’t know what the market is going to do, but I think more folks were speculating in 1999 than presently. 

[powskier]

It doesn't matter to me whether the shoeshiners are pumping or not. I still invest the same.
In this day and age every web forum could be a shoeshiner.

[JLee]

It doesn't matter to me whether the shoeshiners are pumping or not. I still invest the same.
In this day and age every web forum could be a shoeshiner.

Yup.  I will keep dumping money into the market anyway.

[alexpkeaton]

Agreed about cryptocurrencies. I believe the technology is valuable, but it's gotten to the point where every rando is talking about it, so I'm wary. ICOs are a joke.

[aspiringnomad]

Likely apocryphal, but thanks for the reminder to get my shoes shined.

[By the River]

heard last week about a friend of a friend...He is the financial person for a small family business and has pretty much automated everything that he did.  He went to management and asked about going part-time (afternoons only) so that he can day trade stocks in the morning.   I hadn't really heard anyone "day trading" since 99-01. 

[mathlete]

DEFINITELY have noticed an uptick with regards to crypto.

I was at a party recently, and people were buzzing about some of the hottest current crypto currencies. I asked the group what it was about a particular currency that made it valuable. More specifically, why should it appreciate against the US Dollar? Why should it appreciate against bitcoin even?

I got the same basic pitch about what crypto currencies were and why they're better than central bank currency. But nothing concrete on by XYZ was better than ABC (or USD). "This is what speculation looks like," I thought to myself.

They pushed back on me a bit, asking what I thought was so valuable about stocks/bonds/real-estate that I invest in. I explained that public companies create value. They have a documented stream of earnings, and a reasonable expectation of growing them. Even companies that don't earn much, like Amazon, have good cashflow and are putting that to good use. Blah blah blah. Boring stuff when compared to "DOUBLE YOUR MONEY IN 2 WEEKS!!"

Maybe crypto is the future. I have no clue. But my friends are speculating. I know that for sure. And there was recently a video making the rounds of twitter of an actual tortise winning a race against a hare. I feel I'm in good company.