Not at all! Let’s derail
Ok, I do have one contribution for the OT:
People burnt badly by an initial somewhat silly investment and concluding that all investments are like that silly investment.
I know a couple of folks who made their first “investment” early on, it went south ever after, and they’re still waiting for it to break even. Their conclusion is to avoid another burn like that by just not investing.
- One guy “invested” by buying mid five figures of CAD around the GFC in 2008/9 (FX rate about 1 at the time) just because he liked Canada.
- One guy inherited a part of his grandmother’s equity consisting of funds selected by her bank, doubled down at the time of inheritance into six figure territory, and has since seen it going down for the past 20 years or so.
According to this article (paywall), which just crossed my mind again, this is not just anecdotal, but can be observed on a broader, sentimental level like asset allocations over generations (quoting a study from Vanguard comparing those):
By the way, said article has this gem of an introduction summarizing how easy it could be, also adressing some of Mirager’s points:
Oh wait, but don’t make it too easy on them:
Luckily, Mr. Market doesn’t give a s*** about our expectations, might aswell go on another decade-long epic bullrun, just to prove us all wrong
I remember the first bears appearing around 2014: don’t invest in stocks, “expected returns” are low, blahblah
Hey now … Michael Burry, Nouriel Roubini and Marc Faber were dead right at least once on predicting one of the last dozen or so market corrections crashes, they’ll be right again eventually.
I mean, the 1970s were pretty shit for stocks, and anyway my parents enjoyed pre-AIDS free sex, and as Old Economy Steves, or real boomers, enjoyed a period where a family of 4 could live on one salary, with infinite job security unless you murdered someone, where literate and illiterate people had good jobs, and a house down payment was ~6 months’ salary, university was free, a waiter job funded everything, pensions were PHAT and guaranteed, had crazy good music so… I mean my parents built summer houses in their grandpas’ fields, and our generation can’t afford a cozy dump in London zone 11
I would gladly eff off to the 60s-70s, even 80s and I was born in ‘81
No really lol, please send me aged 18 in 1965 so I can become a roadie for Doors, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath or Deep Purple or Rainbow, tour the world, screw hippy chicks, finish university at 30 and get a corporate job or invest in Microsoft
I think it‘s more meant as the returns just being different than your parents‘. And that is definitely the case, you cannot ever get the returns of the past.
Yours will either be higher or lower, and definitely move different.
We are so sorry to inform you that due to a rounding error in our time machine’s main CPU you were sent back to a slightly alternate iteration of the past. We are happy to inform you, though, that
-
OS/2 is now the predominant OS and IBM has become a 3 trillon dollar market cap company.
The Digital Equipment Corporation is still around and competing with VAX, which is technologically superior, but, alas, we don’t know exactly why the market is so stupid.
Microsoft is allegedly on the verge of releasing a completely new type of mobile phone – the tech community quips it as the “mPhone” – but analysts keep pouring cold water on this rumor, claiming that Nokia has a firm grip on the market of satellite phones weighing several kilos. -
The eff-ing Rolling Stones as well as The Beatles made it into this alternate universe as well, but they unexpectedly only lasted for a few months.
Instead, Bob Dylan kept Rolling his Stone and still tops the charts with his new single (Rolling Diamond XXXVI). Exploring the foremost frontiers of anti-aging, Cher just released a new album that’s rocking and shaking the boomers as we speak. -
HQM Sachsenring GmbH just released their latest EV, a so-called Trabbi-EV, then the first EV in decades, laying the foundation for becoming the first gazilion dollar car company with robocabs and future technology around artificial intelligence in the making (first announced in about 1970, coming real soon now).
Aside from these advancements, we are thrilled to inform you that your new hip joint replacements (you’re 18 in 1965, eventually 78 in 2025) should be ready soon. All that’s left to do is free them from a fresh layer of rust, a little bit of polishment, and you should be ready for surgery!
My main, almost on-topic point was how people’s circumstances seem to impact their investment decision (or utter lack thereof) for years to come. Big surprise, now that I think of it.
Not my intention to derail the discussion. This happens often, Ricky doesn’t know why
Anyway, since OP welcomed derailing, I wouldn’t call the Economist a generally bearish magazine. There are good reasons for not taking some 10% per year returns for granted.
Funny enough, that article defines young investors as those below 40. I was mildly flattered by that.
Since you already moved on to bands I know of from my parents phonograms, I’ll leave you to it
Derail away, it’s all light-hearted, main forum is so boring anyway! Off to listen to some Bach on a wax cylinder;) (I do listen to Bach and Baroque).
Investing is strangely exciting, yet boring. Often enough, I’m wondering to what extend I’m not getting it
Back to the more important things in life. Let’s assume you wouldn’t have access to those. And while your mp3 collection holds a lot of classic (along with skate punk), what would be your go-to place to get more, privately? Say, with a focus on the Venetian area, like Gabrieli?
Not sure I follow or understand the question, or if it’s a joke?
Personally I can’t get enough of Baroque, and there’s so much of it! The big ones like Bach, Händel, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Corelli and smaller (in a sense) like Scarlatti (both Alessandro and Domenico), Rameau, Balbastre. I believe I’ve listened to tens if not hundreds of renditions of La Folia (history’s most enduring tune) and still continue looking for more versions.
Medieval music is also good, though in my opinion less “musical” - less focus on the music and composition itself and more as a medium to accompany something else (like storytelling, dancing, background entertainment) while Baroque is where the focus was on composition and expressing musicality within a very strict and formal structure. Classical builds on that with more freedom of expression, and Romantic and 20th century I feel the music takes a step back to convey feelings, where it all falls apart
Caveat: all this is personal opinion, possibly a classically trained musician/historian would cringe!
Much less interested in Classical, and can’t stomach Romantic and modern…until 1970s hard/prog rock and heavy metal, with very selective listening of post 2000 stuff.
No joke. I felt surveillanced when you wrote you listen to Bach while I did.
Maybe I used “classic” too generally.
I’m asking for suggestions to acquire recording that I can listen to on my PC or phone, without being asked to log in or leave a recommendation. That used to be so much easier.
Ah, I don’t know because I do pretty much all of my listening via youtube/spotify.
Edit: now I got the survaillanced point, the microphone is in the dictionary.