Alex Mayyasi

They know how to pick winners.

And I think for the most part, that has been a great development.

Most research has consistently found that those active investors, the people who have been paid very, very healthy amounts of money to invest people's retirement savings for them, just were not worth the money we were paying them.

People were better off with index funds.

And the markets really responded, like more and more and more money has flowed into index funds.

And it's really squeezed a lot of those firms that used to make a really good living by convincing people to give me your investment savings and I'll invest it for you.

And I think that's largely been an example of the middle class and the average person getting a better deal from Wall Street, a better deal from finance.

The index fund is a fantastic financial product.

And then it has been strange over the last years to see how the biggest trend in investing in finance, at least for your average consumer, is to use a product like Robinhood and treat the stock market more and more like gambling as something to have fun with, to make bets with.

And I think there's a way where people have always seen Wall Street as gambling in a way.

But of course, this has made it more like

you're the finance app on your phone is a casino in your pocket.

So yes, and I think this is a thing I would love for more people to understand is that if you use an app like Robin Hood, it is completely free.

You can buy and sell stocks and it doesn't cost you any money.

And so there's a very good question you should ask yourself there.

It's why is this free for me?

And usually the answer

is that you are able to buy and sell stocks for free because someone in finance on Wall Street wants to be on the other side of your trade.

And so they're willing to front that cost.

They're basically very happy to