A few months ago, a bunch of people on Reddit got together, bought a whole heap of GameStop stock, and turned the stock market on its head. The David and Goliath battle that ensued between an online army of small investors and the traditional old heads of Wall street ushered in a new era of investing. For the first time, it felt like everyday people could actually get one up on the Wall Street fat cats.

Stocks and the buying of said stocks were catapulted into the wider zeitgeist, quickly leading to swathes of young people and first-time investors talking about the stock market. It was undeniably intriguing.

As the market bounces back post-pandemic, there’s a lot of action to get in on. COVID-19 may have absolutely decimated the entertainment industry, with closed venues and cancelled shows affecting literally billions of people across the globe, but amidst the chaos, one subset of the entertainment industry has thrived — gaming. What was once a niche industry has flourished during the time of social distancing and lockdowns. Today, the video game industry is worth over $150 billion, and is projected to expand to a whopping $250 billion by 2025. That’s a big pie, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a tasty little slice of it.

Of course, chucking all your money into GameStop right now probably wouldn’t be the best move long term — buying stock built on a meme is incredibly risky (duh). So, us here at The Brag, being the kind, benevolent beings we are, have decided to toss you a bone in the form of some stabler tech and gaming stock options.

Nvidia (NVDA)

As the videogame industry continues to blow up, so too does the stock of chipmakers such as Nvidia. Figures from August last year revealed a record revenue of $3.87 billion — a 50% increase from the year prior. On January 2 of 2020, Nvidia’s stock was worth $239, by late October it was up to $542, at the time of writing, it’s sitting at $614. Big gains season.

Roblox (RBLX)

The US-based platform for both playing and creating games has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, and COVID only boosted its stock. In its first three months of 2021, the company’s revenue doubled, raising $520 million and putting its estimated market cap at $30 billion at the time. Roblox only recently (March 10) became a publicly listed company, so time is of the essence if you want to get in on the ground floor.

Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft has been on somewhat of a spending spree of late. Having recently acquired video game developer giants Bethesda for a cool $7.5 billion, they’ve now set their sights on acquiring Discord — a messaging platform popular with gamers — for $10 billion (or potentially more). Exciting times at Microsoft.

Apple (AAPL)

I know, I know, but hear me out. 5G is the future of gaming, and Apple’s latest version of its biggest source of revenue, the iPhone, has embraced 5G with very open arms. Apart from this, their intense cult-like customer loyalty ensures a relatively safe investment, the only downside is that you’re probably a few decades late to really make bank, but if you’re into slow and steady growth, well, look no further.

Intel (INTC)

Intel has big plans. They recently announced a huge $20 billion investment to build two new factories in Arizona immediately, which would alleviate some of its reliance on Asian manufacturing of microprocessors and computer chips. With this move, Intel is positioning itself as one of the absolute big dogs on the worldwide semiconductor-manufacturing stage and is poised to lead a rebalancing of the global supply chain.

ETFs

Picking a single stock can be daunting and honestly, putting all your eggs in one basket is rarely the best move. Ideally, you want to diversify your portfolio to ensure steady gains and safeguard yourself from relying on the fortunes of a single company — this is where Exchange Traded Funds come in. They allow you to buy a stock that’s shared between a bunch of different investments including stocks, bonds, and other securities.

There are a variety of ETFs available, some replicate the performance of a stock index such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) which essentially spreads whatever you invest across all companies involved, rather than any individual players — this has been repeatedly proven to be the safest investment strategy. Think of ETFs like an index fund, with the main difference being ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the day like stocks, whereas index funds can only be bought and sold for the price set at the end of that trading day.

Some ETFs track the performance of a particular market sector, so a nice option if you’re looking to invest in the future of tech and gaming would be to find an ETF that trades in exclusively these types of stocks, something like eToro’s InTheGame CopyPortfolio. This thematic investment strategy allows you to spread your investment over a large number of top-performing gaming stocks including video game studios, chipmakers, mobile game developers, and other tech giants. It may not be the most exciting of the options, but it’s the best start for any beginner looking for a relatively safe route into investing in stocks. Though don’t let that fool you, ETFs and index funds are highly valued by even the most seasoned of investors.

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So there you have it folks, now run along and let time do its thing. But before I go, a quick disclaimer: don’t ever forget the golden rule of investing in anything — only invest what you can afford to lose. Don’t go forking out your rent money on Tesla stock because you think you’ve cracked the secret code in Elon’s tweets. That would be dumb, and you’re not dumb, are you? (of course you’re not, you read The Brag).

The information provided in this article is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your personal circumstances. You should contact a financial advisor for any individual advice.

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