Relying on gut instinct and lacking financial acumen, retail investors have been derided for buying and selling investments at the worst possible moment. No longer.

It was always an exaggeration to suggest investor types could be neatly categorised into ‘dumb’ and ‘smart’ money. Recent events — such as GameStop — suggest the caricature may need to be redrawn entirely, with potentially significant implications for financial markets. A so-called ‘democratisation’ of finance, driven by cheap, frictionless trading platforms as well as a surge in free time, could have significant long-term implications.