Apex Fintech Solutions Data Shows Gen Z’s Growing Support for the Metaverse and Climate Forward Initiatives in Fourth Quarter 2021

Meme stocks experience slight decline

Apex Fintech Solutions (“Apex”), the “fintech for fintechs” powering innovation and the future of digital wealth management, today released its Q4 2021 Apex Next Investor Outlook. Based on proprietary data from customer accounts held by Apex Clearing, this report highlights the top stocks and other noteworthy holdings within the rising class of Gen Z investors. The report also examines which stocks fell in the rankings alongside behavior parallels and comparisons to older generations.

Apex’s Q4 2021 Investor Outlook data demonstrates a decreasing interest from young investors in meme stocks, particularly AMC, while reinforcing investment in the payments sector, including companies such as Paypal and Block. Consistent with the third quarter 2021, the stocks held within the Gen Z top 10 included Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.

Looking ahead, Apex’s data revealed young investors are intrigued by the metaverse and its ability to transcend the worlds of social networking, culture, gaming and all things digital. Moreover, an exciting year-end development emerged when electric vehicle startup Rivian significantly climbed the rankings, suggesting Gen Z’s increasing propensity towards supporting environmentally conscious and climate forward initiatives.

“We have only begun to scratch the surface when it comes to the digital and technological evolution of our world – and Gen Z investors are at the forefront of this change,” said Bill Capuzzi, Chief Executive Officer of Apex. “In a rising rate environment, we anticipate investors spanning Gen Z to the baby boomers will be active equity market participants. As we head into 2022, we are proud to support their ability to invest across leading digital wealth management platforms who count on our technology to access the financial markets.”

The Apex Next Investor Outlook includes an analysis of the top 100 stocks owned by millions of investors on the Apex platform. The Q4 2021 report is based on more than 1 million Gen Z accounts, in addition to more than 5 million accounts held by Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Themes in the Q4 2021 Apex Next Investor Outlook include:

• Next stop: The metaverse - The metaverse grabbed investor attention in Q4, spurred by Facebook’s plan to rebrand under the name Meta. Gen Z investors responded positively to the company’s ambitions to build the next evolution of social connection, bumping it up 2 spots to #12. Amid the metaverse excitement, top online platform Roblox—which many people consider the closest thing to an existing metaverse today—rocketed up the Gen Z rankings, climbing 36 spots to #36. Young investors also rewarded apparel giant Nike for its efforts to embrace the cutting edge of culture and gaming, lifting it 5 spots to #39. The company recently acquired RTFKT, a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers for the metaverse.
• Rivian IPO charges up electric vehicle makers - Electric vehicle startup Rivian made a blockbuster debut as a public company in November. At its opening price, Rivian’s valuation of more than $85 billion put it on par with General Motors, even though Rivian is still ramping up production. Gen Z gave Rivian a warm welcome, adding it to the rankings at #44. Ford and Amazon, both high-profile backers of Rivian, remained in the top 20 alongside fellow EV makers Tesla, NIO and Lucid Motors.
• Notable meme stocks lose steam - After multiple quarters as the top Gen Z holding, flagship meme stock AMC slipped to #3. GameStop, another widely known meme stock, retreated 5 spots to #11. Meme stocks with less mainstream buzz took even bigger hits. ContextLogic, the parent company of e-commerce platform Wish, declined 35 spots to #56 as its share price traded near all-time lows. Similarly, biopharmaceutical company Ocugen dropped 41 spots to #91.
• Gen Z holding steadfast as payments companies navigate concerns - Payments companies faced notable challenges in the fourth quarter, including an emerging resurgence of COVID-19 cases, which reintroduced concerns of a slowdown in consumer activity. Gen Z investors weren’t spooked, though, lifting modern payments processor PayPal 9 places to #19 while Block (formerly Square) remained at #25.

To see the complete list of the Apex Top 100 stocks among Gen Z investors, click here.

About Apex Fintech Solutions

Apex Fintech Solutions LLC, the “fintech for fintechs,” is the parent company of Apex Clearing Corporation, a custody and clearing platform that’s powering innovation and the future of digital wealth management, and Apex Pro, a trusted clearing partner to broker-dealers, ATS’s, routing firms, professional trading firms, hedge funds, institutions and emerging managers. We offer cryptocurrency trading and custody services through Apex Crypto LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apex Fintech Solutions. Collectively, our suite of solutions creates an environment where companies with the biggest ideas in fintech are empowered to change the world. If you’ve got the guts to dream, we’ve got the guts to help you realize those dreams.

For more information, visit the Apex Fintech Solutions website.

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