TL;DR

24/7 trading sounds appealing, but it likely benefits Wall Street more than Main Street. Like a casino that never closes, it preys on FOMO, turning investing into gambling.

Story

John, a day trader glued to his phone, dreams of striking it rich. Schwab’s 24/7 trading feels like a golden ticket. But is it a trap? Imagine a casino that never closes. That’s what 24/7 trading resembles. It preys on FOMO—the fear of missing out—and turns investing into gambling. Remember the 2008 crash? Driven by complex bets, it wiped out savings. This 24/7 scheme could fuel similar recklessness.‣ FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out): The anxiety that others are having rewarding experiences that you are missing. Here’s the catch: who’s on the other side of John’s 3 a.m. Tesla trade? Likely, not another retail investor, but potentially Schwab itself, or a high-frequency trading bot exploiting inexperienced traders. ‣ High-Frequency Trading (HFT): Using powerful computers to buy and sell stocks in fractions of a second, often taking advantage of small price changes. This isn’t investing; it’s a rigged game. John thinks he’s outsmarting the market, but he’s probably just feeding the sharks. History repeats itself. Remember Enron? Fancy accounting hid a rotten core. Today, the illusion is 24/7 access—making risky trades seem normal. ‣ Enron: An energy company that collapsed in 2001 due to widespread accounting fraud. Don’t fall for it. This isn’t ‘democratizing finance.’ It’s dangling a shiny lure to hook unsuspecting fish.

Advice

If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 24/7 trading isn’t ‘innovation,’ it’s a casino designed to make you lose.

Source

https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/comments/1inh32l/charles_schwab_expands_24hour_trading_to_all_its/