Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Cloudsweeper99, post: 1353490, member: 3011"]As are yours.  I'll agree with you that if someone is a complete financial idiot and decides to invest in individual stocks, they will probably lose money.  And if they decide to invest in an index fund, their profit and loss depends on the price they paid vs today's price.  This is similar to gold.  Gold is not an earning asset, so your profit and loss depends on today's price and not on any skill you bring to the game.  MF Global type events have always and will always occur, just as they have since the beginning of stock markets and banking.  I know you are really frightened by the MF Global scare and will probably never invest again.  That's your decision to be forever locked into a single investment, just like an index investor.  But don't confuse intelligence with a bull market.  It is only the people who know enough to sell after a long rise and look for the next big thing who will keep the bulk of their profits.  For me, the key to safety is to concentrate on stocks that are good value and to buy them within the framework of a portfolio management strategy that varies the ratio of cash to stocks depending on prices.  There is absolutely no difference between you and someone with their money in an index fund.  It's just that the two of you chose different horses to ride.[/QUOTE]