Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets (2022)
Trader's Film Library #86 · GameStop and retail investors. The story of WallStreetBets: memes, options and a crowd that briefly beat the hedge funds.
Original title: Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets · Type: documentary · Created by: Drea Cooper, Zackary Canepari (MSNBC Films) · Usefulness for traders: ★★★☆☆
What it's about
A documentary about the WallStreetBets forum on Reddit: from a niche group of options gamblers to a community that sent GameStop shares soaring in January 2021 and frightened the hedge funds. The filmmakers talk to the forum's founder and its users. Premiered at SXSW 2022.
What it has to do with markets
The film explains the forum's culture well: memes, “diamond hands” (holding a position despite losses), options as lottery tickets and the power of a shared narrative. It shows how a crowd can move the market for a moment and how many people lose in the end.
Lessons for traders
- “hold no matter what” isn't a strategy, it's the lack of an exit plan (the disposition effect, Atlas of biases #36)
- a shared narrative in a crowd reinforces beliefs regardless of the facts (herding, Atlas of biases #31)
- the winners' stories hide thousands of losers (survivorship bias, Atlas of biases #56)
What to watch out for
The film is close to its subjects and at times uncritical of the forum.
Discussion
The discussion takes place in Hetman Capital Club (in Polish). Join the discussion in the Club →
Navigation
← #85 High-Frequency Trading in Documentaries: Quants, Money & Speed, The Wall Street Code, The Speed Traders · Film Library index · #87 £830,000,000: Nick Leeson and the Fall of Barings →
The description outlines the plot without revealing the ending where possible (true stories have a known outcome). Educational content, not investment advice.