Is passive investment inflating a stockmarket bubble?

A spicy working paper says passive investing—buying index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that just mimic the market—might be pumping up a stock bubble. With about 60% of U.S. equity fund assets now passive, the internet grabbed popcorn. One old-school note even called passive “worse than Marxism,” and the crowd said: bring the drama. The loudest alarm bell comes from pm2222, who swears a CNBC guest warned that passive money is “destroying price discovery”—the normal push-pull where buyers and sellers set fair prices. In plain English: too many people on autopilot could make dumb prices stick. But jswelker isn’t having it, comparing the critics to “travel agents” mad at TripAdvisor—aka gatekeepers upset the gravy train ended. eulgro drops receipts with the NBER paper and an archive link, because this debate needs footnotes. Meanwhile, deadbabe shrugs: even if you fear a bubble, where else do you park cash long-term? Back to the stock market. And phkahler calls it “blind investing,” worrying that when retirees withdraw more than workers contribute, the music stops. The memes? “Passive-aggressive investing,” “bubble bath,” and a thousand 401(k) jokes. Verdict: Wall Street purists vs index everyman—no one’s backing down