Penny stocks are having a moment. In recent months, little-known companies with names such as Bit Brother and Phunware have been among the most traded stocks in America’s public markets, surpassing companies like Tesla and popular exchange traded funds. The FT’s US markets editor Jennifer Hughes explores why this is happening, and whether retail investors should think twice before diving in.

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Plus, a note on next week’s show: Look for Behind the Money in your feed a day early, on Tuesday, March 19. 

We’re doing a special 2-part episode with the Unhedged podcast. One part will be in Unhedged’s feed and the other part will be right here, in Behind the Money’s feed. 

We’ll be back to our regular Wednesday schedule the following week. 

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For further reading:

The tiny Chinese tea seller whose shares trade more than Tesla’s

Stock markets undergo ‘risk reset’ as indices notch new records

Retail investors are in no rush to join the latest stock market rally

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On X, follow Jennifer Hughes (@jennhughes13) and Michela Tindera (@mtindera07), or follow Michela on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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