Steph Curry is often heralded as the best shooter in basketball history. His long-range accuracy has been widely credited with helping reshape the National Basketball Association (NBA), making it more common for players to focus on three-point, rather than two-point, field goal attempts. While heaving up difficult shots has clearly worked for him, is that a viable strategy for others?
That question applies off the court as well. New research from Northwestern Mutual reveals a similar dynamic among Americans looking ahead to retirement. A significant cohort of investors feel so far behind that they are willing to compensate by taking outsized risks.
According to the firm’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, nearly 40% of U.S. adults say they are investing or are considering high‑risk, speculative methods of making money such as prediction markets, sports betting, and cryptocurrencies. Rather than sideshow curiosities, these methods have slid into the mainstream, particularly for younger adults. Among people using or open to using them, 73% say it’s because they feel financially behind and believe those speculative investments offer a quicker path to their goals. Among Gen Z, that number jumps to 80%.
In basketball terms, these future retirees find themselves behind on the scoreboard and worried they can’t catch up using the original game plan.
Why Investors Take More Risk When They Feel Behind
The study reveals less about greed and more about panic. Whether it’s rising home prices, repaying student loans, or general inflation trends, a significant portion of future retirees are worried they can’t achieve their retirement goals without some sort of drastic come-from-behind victory. But accelerating rewards often means increasing exposure to volatility and risk.
- Crypto assets: 24% of U.S. adults are currently invested in or considering investing in crypto assets. That percentage increases to 32% for Gen Z and 35% for Millennials.
- Sports betting and prediction markets: 32% of Gen Z and 24% of Millennials say they’re in or thinking about it, compared with 17% of U.S. adults overall.
- Options and meme stocks: Participation in speculative investments like options and meme stocks skews heavily toward younger investors. Gen Z and Millennials report participation rates that are several times higher than Baby Boomers, and in some cases, more than double. This highlights a clear generational gap in risk-taking behavior.
What Is “Scoreboard Anxiety” In Investing?
The Northwestern Mutual study suggests that disengagement isn’t to blame. On the contrary, 53% of Americans now consider themselves “disciplined” financial planners, up from 49% last year. And more than half, 52%, express concern that there’s a blind spot in how many people discuss money. In other words, they seem to feel the conversation overemphasizes building and growing assets and neglects what can go wrong or how to prepare for it. Among younger demographics, 57% of Gen Zers and 62% of Millennials claim to notice this imbalance.
Rather than casting laziness as the motive, the data points instead toward some degree of heightened awareness or anxiety. Individuals seemingly agree with the need to invest, but don’t believe the standard pace will help them reach financial security fast enough.
Why High-Risk Investments Can Backfire Over Time
Late-game situations, what the NBA defines as “clutch time,” the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points, tend to concentrate shot attempts in the hands of primary scorers like Steph Curry. His combination of volume and efficiency from long range often becomes even more pronounced when a team is trying to close a gap.
Even the U.S. men’s team, with a roster full of All-Stars, relied on Curry at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In a semifinal against Serbia, the U.S. trailed by as many as 17 points before Curry caught fire and helped fuel the comeback, finishing with 36 points and nine three-pointers. In the final against France, he hit 8 more three-pointers, ultimately securing a gold medal.
All of this may seem to justify higher-risk behavior to achieve long-term financial success. But just as Steph Curry is a rare exception, instances of investors succeeding by taking concentrated risks, whether through leverage or chasing hot stocks, tend to be uncommon and difficult to replicate. Chasing “all in” bets, whether in sports, crypto, or prediction markets, may feel decisive, but decades of research, including work in modern portfolio theory, have found that diversified portfolios have historically been associated with more consistent outcomes.
Why Younger Investors Still Have Time To Build Wealth
In today’s challenging environment, younger investors may feel as if it’s too late for them to reach their goals through typically sustainable means, but that’s often not the case. The problem with this type of “scoreboard anxiety” is that it may involve comparing oneself to someone who purchased a home in a more favorable market, acquired stock options at a lucrative company, or had help from family. It’s an understandable impulse, but a false equivalency.
An investor in their 20s or 30s still has:
- Decades of investing runway.
- Time for multiple market cycles.
- Years for compounding to take effect.
Because of his unique situation, Steph Curry may be able to live by the sword without dying by it. But the history of success, both in basketball and retirement planning, is replete with disciplined strategy, not last-minute heroics. This may include:
- A healthy savings rate.
- Regular investing in a diversified portfolio.
- An emphasis on established companies with durable earnings and balance sheet strength, as well as income and growth.
- A plan that balances building wealth with protecting it.
That’s the kind of steady game plan that shows up repeatedly in my happiest retiree research. A secure retirement isn’t usually built by betting everything to win, but by running a stable, effective plan of attack for 20, 30, 40 years.
How To Manage Investment Risk Without Derailing Your Plan
With these fundamentals in mind, some future retirees may still genuinely feel behind. What might they do?
First, it can be productive to acknowledge the feeling. Worrying about a future lack of purchasing power is certainly a reasonable concern. The Northwestern Mutual study revealed as much, as Americans overwhelmingly cited inflation as the #1 obstacle to achieving financial security (42%). Lack of savings (25%) and personal debt (22%) also made the list, and it doesn’t take a study to show that expensive housing and scary headlines are unsettling trends.
Second, it may be helpful for future retirees to separate the game plan from the higher-risk activity. There’s nothing inherently destructive about dabbling in speculative financial behavior if the investors involved can afford to lose the funds used. If contained within the “fun money” bucket, probable losses can be viewed as entertainment costs.
The crucial step is to keep the actual wealth‑building funds in less volatile vehicles—diversified funds, established companies with consistent performance, sensible asset allocation—that have historically been associated with long-term wealth accumulation.
Markets move fast, and social media moves faster, but slow and steady has often been linked to greater financial security.
Bottom Line: What Would Steph Curry Do?
Steph Curry’s circus shot heroics may tempt others to follow suit. But the more effective takeaway is that for him, a long shot doesn’t equal high risk. A combination of talent and preparation has helped him turn difficult shots into makeable ones that he and his team have been able to rely on for long periods of time.
The point isn’t to suggest practice can convert high-risk ventures into low-risk ones, but to illustrate that even Steph Curry is looking for less volatile, higher probability ways to succeed. Just because his are more exciting doesn’t mean the underlying math is any different. Even off the court, Curry’s publicly reported investment activity suggests a diversified approach across multiple industries.
If the most famous long-shot taker in NBA history doesn’t seem to rely on high-risk investments to grow his wealth, why would anyone else?
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Wes Moss is the Chief Investment Strategist at Capital Investment Advisors, LLC. The views expressed are his own, reflect general principles only, and do not constitute personalized investment advice or represent the experience of any specific individual or account.
All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Historical performance is not indicative of future results. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its intended objectives, or that diversification will protect against loss or improve returns. References to equities, bonds, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and other asset classes are for illustrative purposes only; each carries unique risks including market volatility, interest rate risk, credit risk, and liquidity risk.
Statistical data cited in this article is sourced from the Northwestern Mutual 2026 Planning & Progress Study. Northwestern Mutual is an independent third party unaffiliated with Capital Investment Advisors, LLC (“CIA”). CIA has not independently verified this data and makes no representations regarding its accuracy or completeness. All other economic and market data referenced are drawn from publicly available sources believed to be reliable but are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness, may be subject to revision, and should not be relied upon as a prediction of future outcomes.
Investors should consult with a qualified financial professional regarding their individual circumstances before making any investment decisions.
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