http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/09/16/stocks-for-the-long-run/
Inflation has decreased the value of a dollar about 33% since 1999. The S&P 500 has been stagnate for about that long.
You would have much more today if you had stashed you money in savings accounts, real estate and CD's. Most of my wealth is accounted for by cash and real estate. The minority (and getting smaller 
) is in stocks and corporate bonds through mutual funds.
I think buy and hold went the way of the dodo. When a portion corporate America is out to pillage the wealth that rightfully belongs to the shareholder, the small investor is the one who gets hurt. I'm not sure what Wall Street and the Feds can do to prop up confidence in the Ponzi scheme (stock market) at this point.
I think clear reform in corporate governance is overdue. Also I think that the money flowing out of the market is a healthy thing. We need to find something more reliable and trustworthy to invest our money in.
It's a shame the wealth creation engine of the stock market seems to have stalled again. I'm sure at some point it will come back as it always does. I'm not sure how many more beatings small investors need before they realize this is a game for the big money players.
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Comments
1 Comment so far
"Inflation has decreased the value of a dollar about 33% since 1999. The S&P 500 has been stagnate for about that long."
I read the linked article and it appears that the author has a time period bias, i.e., he selected a time period that proved his point. What is significant about 1999 or 2000? Why not 1998 (10 years) or 1988 (20 years)?
"When a portion corporate America is out to pillage the wealth that rightfully belongs to the shareholder, the small investor is the one who gets hurt."
Hasn't this been happening for years? It just looks like it caught up with the financial/real estate sectors recently…just like it caught the technology sectors not too long ago.
"You would have much more today if you had stashed you money in savings accounts, real estate and CD's. Most of my wealth is accounted for by cash and real estate. The minority (and getting smaller
) is in stocks and corporate bonds through mutual funds."
It would be great to see the results of your decision (to invest new money in RE and CDs instead of your 401K), and possibly compare them to what rate of return (good or bad) you would have received otherwise. I've noticed other personal finance blogs posting their own unique investment path and corresponding rates of return–it seems to draw a lot of interest.