Dawg52
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I amazed at the backlash from that comment. It was an opinion. Don't take it personal.
And the replies are opinions.
I amazed at the backlash from that comment. It was an opinion. Don't take it personal.
When I want to gamble, I go down to the casinos and put a $20 in the slot machines. That is all I am willing to lose. I sure wouldn't bet my retirement money in such a cavalier fashion. Personally I prefer index funds and Wellesley to individual stocks.Pick your poison.
Is there such a thing as too much diversification? Such as the highly diversified non-correlated portfolios containing every asset under the sun. Are the risks so balanced out that the returns will be lower because of the lower risk?
I've become a "bird in the hand" kinda guy in my old age. I did some risky individual stock trading in the 90s. Won a few, lost a few. Ended up down a couple of grand. I found that I don't have the stomach for it. I'll stay with my mix of Wellington and various low cost index funds and wear the amateur label proudly.
The reverse of this statement is equally accurate...or inaccurate.There is nothing inherently risky about individual stock trading, or inherently safe about buying and holding index funds.
There is nothing inherently risky about individual stock trading, or inherently safe about buying and holding index funds.
For the last few years I have taken realized CGs ~$100,000 each year. I have already booked that again this year. That doesn't necessarily mean that the gains were all generated during the calendar year. But overall, it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving.
I sometimes get envious of the very low taxes that some of you are paying.
Ha
There are some exceptions to this like a small cap value fund (e.g. Vanguard Small Cap Value, visvx) where the stocks that go up a lot will exit the fund due to too large a market cap. I don't have any particular axe to grind. Have more actively managed funds then index funds. Even have one stock position left over from my stock picking days and will probably exit this in the next 2 years to take advantage of zero cap gains rates if you stay in the 15% bracket. I started a small position today in visvx in an IRA.Just to point out a clear danger to index funds that is inherent in the usual cap-weighted index -- over time you become more and more heavily invested in the stocks that have gone up the most. So you had better be a believer in The Big Mo.
Well, if the definition of amateur is someone who doesn't get paid for what they do, then he's probably right. I'd be more willing to take risks if I was being paid a lot to...
Let me finish the sentence: take huge risks with other people's money!
There is nothing inherently risky about individual stock trading
Ha
There was for me because I sucked at it
Seriously, I agree with you. I was day trading and I came to understand that I didn't have the time or patience to trade individual stocks the right way. I know people who do it right with an appropriate % of their portfolio and it looks like all the research and strategy stuff is just not for me.