Will the new breed of retail investors cash in – or crash out?

‘Feed the ducks when they’re quacking’ sounds like advice from a foie gras farmer — but let’s leave gastronomy till last and focus first on stock market activity. The saying actually comes from Wall Street and means that if investor demand is strong, it’s best satisfied with ample supplies of new stock. What’s wrong with that? Nothing, if the investors understand risk and the offerings are sound. But is that what’s happening in the current retail investment craze on both sides of the Atlantic? Probably not.

From its low in March last year, the FTSE 100 index has risen 40 per cent. A hectic London market in new issues since the autumn has offered novelties ranging from the Dr Martens boot brand to Darktrace in cybersecurity, with most debutants outperforming the wider market and only Deliveroo an outright flop. Reasons enough to attract new investors who are bored by lockdown and have easy access to low-cost trading technology.