How investing is getting riskier (Two Indicators)

Margin borrowing and sports gambling “investments” are both on the rise! Today on the show, two stories from Planet Money’s daily podcast The Indicator about the ways investing is changing, and getting riskier. According to one study, more than half of Gen Zers are using investment dollars for sports gambling. On average, this is not a smart strategy for the long term. It might be that sports betting today is like day trading was for a previous generation of young investors: something a lot of young people, typically men, do, lose money at for a while, then quit. We review the early research on this trend and meet a state legislator proposing ways to stem problem gambling. More, generally younger people are also investing with borrowed money. Trading on margin is at an all time high of over $1.5 trillion. In the past, high levels of margin investing have led to crashes. We hear those stories and find out what the Fed might do to reign in the risk.  Related Indicator episodes— How AI might mess with financial markets— Prediction markets are threatening national security. Who's gonna fix it? Connect with Planet Money & The Indicator— Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly link round up newsletter!— Sign up for Planet Money’s weekly longform newsletter!— Buy the Planet Money book— Find our socials, YouTube and more!— For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+  Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. These episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money were produced by Corey Bridges and Cooper Katz-McKim. They were engineered by Travis Hagan and Cena Loffredo, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. They were edited by Julia Ritchey and Kate Concannon.  Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy