Five years after GameStop, I think the most underappreciated takeaway isn’t about meme stocks, it’s about audience.

Nearly every client I work with now is saying the same thing: “We want more retail investors.”

What this actually means to me is, “we want access to a hard-to-define, hard-to-reach cross section of humanity.” Retail isn’t a channel. It’s not a monolith. It’s a living mix of professionals, parents, technologists, traders, long-term holders, skeptics, and true believers.

That’s what makes it difficult, but also valuable.

Is it "Dumb Money"?

This CNBC article does a good job putting real numbers behind what many of us see anecdotally every day:

• Retail can be 20%+ of daily equity volume, and far higher during volatility

• Those flows can meaningfully impact liquidity, volume, and ultimately multiples

• And importantly, this isn’t “tourist capital”—it’s persistent, informed, and engaged

It’s also far smarter than institutional investors once assumed.

Message boards, social platforms, and creator-led communities have become powerful echo chambers for debating valuation, product relevance, and credibility. Five or ten years ago, institutional money would never have viewed these forums as useful signal. Today, many funds actively track them.

Another reality: it’s genuinely hard to know how much of daily trading is pure retail. Flows are blended, intermediated, and opaque. But this article reinforces something important: when retail shows up, it shows up at scale.

What's Your Retail Strategy?

At Gateway, this is where we spend a lot of time with clients. Helping companies access retail isn’t about blasting press releases or chasing hype. It’s about:

• Curating the message so it’s understandable, credible, and repeatable

• Meeting retail investors where they already consume content

• Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, CEO videos, podcasts, and long-form narrative—not just earnings calls

Retail investors don’t want marketing. They want clarity, conviction, and consistency.

The “dumb money” label didn’t just age poorly, it missed the point entirely. Retail investors aren’t a sideshow. They’re part of the market’s infrastructure now, and companies that learn how to communicate with them thoughtfully are better positioned for the long run.

Need help with your company's retail investor strategy? Gateway can help.

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