Hi Charles and group, thanks for the invitation to share. I will be quick. I am not a professional financial advisor or tax expert, so let me state that from the jump. From my perspective, you either keep your money under your pillow and accumulate savings and never enter the markets, or you seek to invest for retirement, utilizing all the tools available to you today. If you do choose the latter, you enter a world dominated by professionals/institutions globally, and you must realize this fact quickly, and fully outsource any of your investment decisions to someone who, first, you trust with your life. If you cannot find that person, do not invest.
I am not in the camp that you can watch Jim Cramer and expect to make money over the long term. Professional traders monitor and access media information and systematically destroy retail investors who attempt to use these outlets a reference point. Nor am I am in camp that you can half-a-s(excuse my language) or moonlight in investing. I believe this is at the core of the problem for people today who have trouble saving for retirement and anticipate trajectory of this issue. Unfortunately, I do not think folks learn this lesson until the market teaches them, which is a harsh lesson. Sometimes, this takes multiple cycles, and by then, as we learned in 2009, it is too late for many, who ultimately leave the markets, never to return, for piece of mind.
I truly respect the capable financial adviser who provides appropriate, holistic guidance over the long term for her or his clients. I believe this is an honest profession, when handled with the best intentions. This is a subject I have thought about over my 16 years career as a professional trader, analyst, and executive on the Street in New York. I have not witnessed much adaptation in investor sentiment, their ability to actively manage retirements, or demonstrating the ability to apply cyclical defensive strategies over that time horizon, people are not professional investors, bottom line. Nor do not see evidence in my historical studies of market, as a Chartered Market Technician that would indicate the masses will adapt to the issue you have raised. People seem destined to make the same mistakes time and time again. I hope, somehow, this can change though, but I am not holding my breath.
You may not realize after reading my comments here that I am actually a glass have full type of guy who enjoys giving back to society in many ways, so sorry for the bearish sentiment. Its simply my honest opinion. I look forward to reading any responses. Best regards to all and good luck with your portfolios! Scott M. Khourie CMT LRPC Market Technicians Association, Brandeis University Wall Street Committee-NY