Florida professor warns against investments based on social media

DELAND, Fla. - The recent Gamestop mania may be over but there is a growing number of rookie investors relying on social media and meme stocks to get started investing.

Dr. Matt Hurst, a finance professor at Stetson University, is warning against this type of investing because while it may be fun and fast at first, it is more like gambling than investing.

"Looking back on this, Wall Street Bets went from a couple of hundred-thousand people following them to over six million," he said.

He is urging that while it may be enticing to invest based on social media memes about the next hot thing, do not do it.

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At Stetson, he said that "we’re trying to teach to invest for the long term, to pick good companies with sound business models, to focus on the fundamentals."

The Stetson University Roland George Investments Program has students manage a $5.6 million investment fund.

CJ Rogan, a previous student of the program, told FOX 35 that "the more time that you spend in the market assuming your company doesn’t go bankrupt, the more money that you’re going to be able to make."

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He added that he has gained invaluable experience at Stetson and hopes more young people start investing and understand how to do it properly, saying that, "My hope with the rise of social media and the rise of the retail investor is that you’re going to have a lot more people working with it and really broadening their knowledge to be able to share that."

If you are thinking about investing, Dr. Hurst says to find companies that you think will be around for five to 10 years. If you do insist on investing in popular stocks, only invest what you can afford to lose and consult a financial manager.

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