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boy if you think the stock market sucks because of that you've got alot to learn! Theres alot more going on behind the scenes that makes corporate american a risky asset (to investors). The funny part is that americans have been sold the idea that its a smart idea to buy stocks. The insiders get rich while the little guy gets trumped, always.
The funny part is that americans have been sold the idea that its a smart idea to buy stocks. The insiders get rich while the little guy gets trumped, always.
This word "always" I don't think it means what you think it means. Go visit one of the retire early message boards, you'll find quite a few "little guys" who were able to quit working at a relatively early age by living under their means and investing wisely which includes the stock market.
If you had invested $10,000 in 1990, as of 2009 it would be:
$20,900.00 if saved in a short-term asset.
$24,700.00 if saved in a gold portfolio.
$35,700.00 if saved in a long-term asset at a term of 1 years.
$38,145.64 if saved in a S&P portfolio with dividends reinvested.
Sure people can lose money in the stock market and who knows what the future holds but any claim that the little guy always get trumped is obviously false. Sitting on the sidelines being paralyzed by fear and pessimism is no way to achieve financial independence.
This word "always" I don't think it means what you think it means. Go visit one of the retire early message boards, you'll find quite a few "little guys" who were able to quit working at a relatively early age by living under their means and investing wisely which includes the stock market.
If you had invested $10,000 in 1990, as of 2009 it would be:
$20,900.00 if saved in a short-term asset.
$24,700.00 if saved in a gold portfolio.
$35,700.00 if saved in a long-term asset at a term of 1 years.
$38,145.64 if saved in a S&P portfolio with dividends reinvested.
Sure people can lose money in the stock market and who knows what the future holds but any claim that the little guy always get trumped is obviously false. Sitting on the sidelines being paralyzed by fear and pessimism is no way to achieve financial independence.
Well of course there is an exception to every rule.
Just saying for most the stock market is a zero sum game when you factor in taxes and inflation.
Don't get me wrong here there are some stocks/companies that are very good and very good investments but imo, you can make more money elsewhere.
Im up 1200% since 1987, dosent sound like a zero sum game to me. thats using nothing special fidelity funds.
factoring in a decade with 2 back to back recessions will make any short term period look bad to not so good.
i was just kidding. i dont know s hit about stock market. and doesnt have a single centavo in it.
i have a savings account with only 0.7% interest per annum =(
Well of course there is an exception to every rule.
Just saying for most the stock market is a zero sum game when you factor in taxes and inflation.
I could sit here posting "exceptions" to your rule all day. Go look back at every thirty year period in the history of the DOW, accounting for inflation, and guess how many of them you wouldn't have made money.
Here are some annual real returns per decade for the S&P 500, which take into account inflation and dividends:
1950s 16.7%
1960s 5.2%
1970s -1.4%
1980s 11.6%
1990s 14.7%
2000s -3.4%
1950-2009 7.0%
I'm not claiming stocks are for everyone, nor am I claiming there are no better investments out there, nor do I know the future and guarantee good returns going forward. However saying it is a zero sum game or that the little guys can't make money in the stock market is false.
The little guys certainly can make big $$$ in the market IF it's in a bull market AND they know enough to get out in time. The trend is still your friend.
That said, stocks are a rigged game for the benefit of the few, not the many. If your timing is good, you can go along for the ride. We just had one heckuva ride for the last 30 years. The next 20 are likely to be quite different. I doubt that "buy and hold" is a good strategy for the next decade. It's likely to be volatile, just as it has been for the past few years.
I know guys, men who worked all their lives and had made lots of money (not only in the market -- they had prosperous careers), and today they are down 40%, 50%...even with the rally, they can't quite seem to recoup those losses. The cost of living is killing them.
timing is what hurts you... all you had to do was just rebalance thru it all and you would be if not ahead right now ,pretty close to even. anyone still down 40-50% wasnt investing they were speculating .. there are no diviersified funds at this point that arent close to even if you had a plan that included simple rebalancing .dont let anyone tell you they did the right thing and didnt try to time things and are down 40-50% because they are lying ,they didnt do the correct thing.
if you dont have at least 14-15 years to let time do its thing just spin the wheel at vegas and get dinner and a show
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