The younger generation are supposed to be the ones with ‘diamond hands’ who can hold on for dear life, something known as ‘hodl’ on popular social media platforms such as Reddit.
These phrases became popular around the time of the GameStop saga in early 2021, when investors pumped up the price of the beaten-up games retailer in an effort to squeeze short sellers.
Both describe people who are willing to hold their nerve and remain invested even when times get tough and are associated with the younger generation, who tend to have more of a propensity to trade and take risks than their older counterparts. But despite the big talk, younger investors are not walking the walk.
More than half of retail investors pulled back from markets between February and the end of April 2025 – when markets were choppy – with younger investors the most jittery, research from Charles Stanley found this week.
Some 65% of millennial and gen Z upped their cash in the three months, compared to 44% of gen X and 31% of baby boomers.
While young people believe they have the stomach for trading, the evidence suggests they do not. In fact, the older generations are the true proponents of staying the course.
This research was followed up by a report from investment trust Alliance-Witan, which found almost a quarter of investors had sold out of an investment at a loss over the past year, and one in 10 had done so over the past six months.
Most cited investment performance, while others said they needed cash for an emergency or life event. More than one in 10, meanwhile, admitted they based their decision on advice given to them by a friend or relative.
While selling at a loss can sometimes be unavoidable (and investors do need to accept making mistakes and selling out when they no longer believe in a company), making knee-jerk decisions based on short-term market volatility is a surefire way to lose money.
As Mark Atkinson, senior director, client management at WTW (Willis Towers Watson), said: “With so much uncertainty within the markets today, with tariffs and increased costs impacting organisations across the globe, it’s natural that an investor may be spooked.”
However, there are numerous studies out there that prove staying the course and remaining invested is the best way to make money over the long term.
The younger generation and the commenters over on Reddit have something right – at times it is better to ‘hodl’ and have ‘diamond hands’ in the face of uncertainty. So long as it is based on sound investing rationale and not the meme stocks and buzz companies that these terms were thought up for.