Josh brown says the next generation of investors should be taken seriously

Josh Brown believes the young generation of investors using social media platforms for trading should not be ridiculed. "My generation and older have a short-term memory. Think back

what we were doing 20 years ago with the first Yahoo Finance message boards," Brown of Ritholtz Wealth Management told CNBC's Bob Pisani at the "Future Proof" conference.

"We were every bit as idiotic as we might think a 19-year-old is today. We did all of the same stuff." The Covid pandemic saw a host of first-time, young investors jump into the

stock market, hoping to take advantage of the historic market comeback. Trading activity exploded in speculative names like GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond as small traders came together

on Reddit's chatrooms to coordinate activities. "Every generation has to have its own opportunity to make mistakes, to learn from them, to get smarter and wealthier. We are

witnessing that now. To look at that derisively just because you are 20 years ahead chronologically makes absolutely no sense to me," Brown said. Increased trading among retail

investors attracted criticism from big investors and hedge funds. Warren Buffett said Millennial-favored stock trading app Robinhood is contributing to the casino-like activity in the stock

market and benefiting from it. Barry Ritholtz of Ritholtz Wealth Management said investing young has its own benefits. "When you are young and have a long time horizon, you can recover

from a big market crash," Ritholtz said.