General Description

The CMC Markets Social Media Share Basket tracks the performance of an initial 12 shares with exposure to the social media industry chosen by the Share Basket Review Panel.

The Share Basket was created with a base level of 4,000 as of 31 December 2019.

Social Media is one of the 16 trending share baskets you can now trade on. Trading share baskets allows you to diversify your risk, so a sharp movement in one company’s share price doesn’t have a disproportionate effect on the overall holding.

Social media shares: the 21st century technology boom

The 21st century boom in technology has changed the way we work and play. Whether staying in touch with a friend, showing off the latest piece of craftwork, looking for love, or a good dentist, social media is now a part of the fabric of our lives.

Entrepreneurs have scrambled to meet these needs, creating networks that connect us with family and friends, allow us to share interests, and entertain, inform and amuse. More people than ever before have accounts on social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Why trade on social media?

The social media industry has taken off in the 21st century, with a host of start-ups launched in the early part of the century now huge, household names, providing services to millions of people worldwide

THE BULLISH STANCE

• Traders and investors can trade in companies and technology they are familiar with and use on a daily basis
• Social media has become increasingly important to people’s daily lives across the globe, facilitated by fast-moving technological advances
• Ongoing technological innovation also allows online trading platforms to offer increasing choice

THE BEARISH VIEW

• Social media has received negative press at times due to facilitating certain organisations and allowing them to spread their message, such as far-right groups and terrorist organisations
• Similarly, some social platforms have faced criticism for not closing down some accounts quickly enough, and there are question marks over how types of abuse, such as racism, and ‘trolling’ can be completely stamped out
• There are environmental concerns around the increasing global emissions produced by powering the internet
• A number of start-ups have failed to make the grade and fallen by the wayside, and there remains a possibility that certain groups of people will turn away from social media if they feel it becomes tiresome and monotonous