Millennials Struck Out With Stock Picks in 2017

While stocks finished out 2017 hitting new records, Millennials still aren't sold on the stock market. As for those in the tech-savvy generation who have decided to give trading a try, data suggests that they aren't very good at it. 

A recent Bankrate survey indicated that Millennials would rather invest in real estate and gold than stocks despite the latter's historically better returns. That being said, those who chose to buy stocks last year favored well-known consumer companies, tech stocks and cryptocurrency.

Robinhood, a trading app used primarily by a Millennial cohort, listed its top 10 most popular stocks in 2017 and their one-year returns. Six out of the 10 posted a loss, compared to the S&P 500's 19.4% gain last year. In first place, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) sank 3.1%. Next came wearable tech play Fitbit Inc. (FIT), with a 25.4% dip, followed by social media app company Snap Inc. (SNAP), down 39.4% and GoPro Inc. (GPRO) in fourth with a 13.8% decline.

Drawn Into Cryptomania

The next three most-popular stocks on the trading app, Ford Motor Co. (F), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Twitter Inc. (TWTR), helped make up for the slump, up 0.3%, 47.9% and 49%, respectively in 2017. 

Stockpile, another app popular among Millennial investors, showed similar findings, indicating that its top stock was Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), followed by Bitcoin Investment Trust, a fund that tracks the price of the volatile digital currency. 

"We're finding that Millennials like to buy stocks of companies they know and whose products and services they use personally, or aspire to use. So Amazon, Snapchat, Facebook, Tesla all make sense," a spokesperson for Stockpile told Business Insider. "As far as bitcoin, many Millennials see this as a growth opportunity created by their generation and something they can get in on early. (See also: Bitcoin Will Get Millennials Trading: TD Exec.)