DeepFuckingValue

Keith Patrick Gill (born June 8, 1986), known on Reddit under the pseudonym DeepFuckingValue and on Youtube and Twitter as Roaring Kitty, is an American paper-trading financial analyst and investor known for his posts on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets.[1][2] His analyses of Gamestop stock (and his resulting investment gains) posted on Reddit and YouTube were cited by many as a driving factor in the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021 and as a spark for the subsequent trading frenzy in retail stocks.[3][4] The event allowed him to turn "an investment of around [US]$53,000 into a figure nearing $50,000,000."[3] His postings have been described as having "forthright, spreadsheet-laden content"[5] and his Reddit username, derived from the investing term deep value, is intended to "reflect a belief in value investing".[6]

Keith Gill
Born
Keith Patrick Gill

(1986-06-08) June 8, 1986
NationalityAmerican
Other names
  • DeepFuckingValue
  • Roaring Kitty
Alma materStonehill College
OccupationFinancial analyst
Known forInvolvement in the GameStop short squeeze

Personal life

Gill was born to Steven and Elaine Gill[7] and was raised in Brockton, Massachusetts.[2] He graduated from Stonehill College in 2009 and holds several school records in track and field middle-distance running. Gill was named the Indoor Athlete of the Year in 2008 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association after he won the 1,000m race at the New England Championships with a time of 2:24.73.[8][9][10] Gill is a Chartered Financial Analyst, formerly employed at MassMutual.[1] He is married and has one child.[6][11]

Gill's identity was revealed to the public by Reuters following an investigation of public records and social media posts on January 28, 2021.[1][6] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gill said he "wasn't a rabble-rouser out to take on the establishment, just someone who believes investors can find value in unloved stocks".[6]

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a private regulatory agency, Gill has held a license as a stockbroker since about 2010.[12]

Position on GameStop

A GameStop store in a mall

In September 2019, Gill (as DeepFuckingValue) posted a screenshot of a "YOLO" trade on r/wallstreetbets, consisting of a roughly $53,000 long position in GameStop;[5] Gill's Reddit posts and YouTube videos argued (through both fundamental and technical analysis) that the stock was undervalued.[1] In January 2020, Gill commented on Reddit that he "expect[ed] [GameStop] to bounce back just as it did after the two previous earnings readouts."[13] In a YouTube video, he noted that his argument did not constitute financial advice, saying "I don't provide personal investment advice or stock recommendations during the stream".[1]

Nonetheless, his argument "helped attract a flood of retail cash into GameStop":[1] during the first days of the valuation spike in late January 2021, hundreds of thousands of people downloaded investment apps like Robinhood to "join the action".[6] Ultimately, Gill's investment in the stock of GameStop (which he had begun in June 2019 when the stock was $5 per share) would inspire other posters and readers to invest.[6]

Subsequent investment in the stock (and other "meme stocks" such as AMC, BlackBerry, and Nokia) would result in controversy; the 2021 GameStop short squeeze would result in several hedge funds and other institutional investors experiencing significant financial difficulty, as well as many retail investors seeing significant gains. By January 27, according to screenshots he posted on Reddit, Gill's original investment was worth nearly $48 million.[1] The value of the stock continued to fluctuate wildly; he lost $15 million in one day, and when markets closed on January 29, The Wall Street Journal confirmed that his brokerage accounts held $33 million.[6]

Regulatory issues

On February 4th, it was announced that William Galvin, Massachusetts's secretary of the commonwealth, wrote to Gill's previous employer MassMutual to investigate whether or not Gill or the company broke any rules related to his activities in promoting the GameStop stock.[14] A week earlier, Galvin had called for a 30-day suspension of trading in Gamestop securities.[15]

Gill is expected to testify to the House Financial Services Committee on February 18, 2021, along with Vladimir Tenev.[16]

References

  1. Prentice, Chris; Schroeder, Pete (January 28, 2021). "Famed GameStop Bull 'Roaring Kitty' Is a Massachusetts Financial Advisor". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. Stephen, Bijan (January 29, 2021). "Go Read This Profile of the Trader Whose Huge Bet on GameStop Moved the Entire Market". The Verge. New York: Vox Media. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. Dixon, Dan (January 28, 2021). "Anarchy, In-Jokes and Trolling: The GameStop Fiasco Is 4chan-Think in Action". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. Daly, Kyle (January 29, 2021). "How Reddit Explains the GameStop Saga". Axios. Arlington, Virginia. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. Baker, Katie (January 28, 2021). "The GameStop Stock Market Saga Explainer Dictionary". The Ringer. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  6. Verlaine, Julia-Ambra; Banerji, Gunjan (January 30, 2021). "The Man Who Drove GameStop Mania". The Wall Street Journal. New York. p. A1. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  7. "Keith Gill". Stonehill College Skyhawks. Easton, Massachusetts: Stonehill College. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  8. Robinson, Joshua; Cohen, Ben; Verlaine, Julia-Ambra; Banerji, Gunjan (February 1, 2021). "Market Disrupter Built Up Steam as School Track Star". The Wall Street Journal. New York. p. B5. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  9. Hambleton, Brittany (January 29, 2021). "The Man Behind the GameStop Stock Market Frenzy Is a Former College Track Star". Canadian Running. Toronto: Gripped Publishing. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  10. "Keith Gill". Stonehill College Skyhawks. Easton, Massachusetts: Stonehill College. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  11. Popper, Nathaniel; Browning, Kellen (January 29, 2021). "The 'Roaring Kitty' Rally: How a Reddit User and His Friends Roiled the Markets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  12. Dieser 34-Jährige setzte frühzeitig auf Gamestop: Wie das «brüllende Kätzchen» Millionen verdiente
  13. DeepFuckingValue (January 14, 2020). Comment on "GameStop 2019 Holiday Sales Down 27.5% YoY, Comparable Sales Down 24.7%, Stock Down 6% After Hours". r/wallstreetbets. Reddit. January 13, 2020. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  14. "A Mass. man has been called a GameStop stock ringleader. Now, his videos are drawing Bill Galvin's attention". February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  15. "Mass. Secretary of State Bill Galvin calls for 30-day suspension of GameStop stock trading". January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  16. Goldstein, Steve (February 4, 2021). "Reddit poster who has pushed GameStop will testify, Waters says". MarketWatch. MarketWatch. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
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