Portfolios must be getting decimated.

GeorgeHowell

1echidna wrote: »

What rankles with me is the language sometimes used in promoting a particular investment. How often does one hear that that so and so fund 'is' a good performer when what is really meant is that so and so fund 'has been' a good performer. Small thing perhaps but something that is of psychological importance in dragging people into investing when perhaps they would not otherwise do so.

Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing that I'm complaining about. To be fair, some of it probably emanates from the sort of false optimism and short-term thinking that is a major cause of the credit crunch in the first place. Many financial advisors no doubt come to believe their own propaganda when times are good and stocks are rising.

However, I have not seen in recent years a caution in advertisements etc which points out that a rising market is still below 1999 levels. It has to be recognised that the financial industry does have a vested interest in people investing in certain types of areas, particularly equities.

Nevertheless, ultimately caveat emptor must apply. Hopefully the present slump will caution people to be very sceptical in deciding whether to place large proportions of their nest eggs in sectors where they can lose big slugs of it at a stroke. It's all very sad if IFA's and others find it harder to pay for the school fees and skiing holidays as a result, but even sadder if pensioners are forced into penury by taking advice based on the dubious assumption that the trends of the 20th century must continue into the 21st,

sabretoothtigger

I dont think its standard advice to have everyone invest in stocks. Having all your money in shares as you are about to retire is pretty risky as it can drop suddenly like it has now.
Advice Ive seen only recommends mostly stocks when you will have no immediate need ,so in your 20's and 30's


Also taking the 99 point as a reference is provocative, at the time people realised the market was vastly over valued and it was said for a long while that it would drop back.
Not similar to recent times when growth was still fairly modest overall and no one really saw the banking problem occuring this badly

GeorgeHowell

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

I dont think its standard advice to have everyone invest in stocks. Having all your money in shares as you are about to retire is pretty risky as it can drop suddenly like it has now.
Advice Ive seen only recommends mostly stocks when you will have no immediate need ,so in your 20's and 30's


Also taking the 99 point as a reference is provocative, at the time people realised the market was vastly over valued and it was said for a long while that it would drop back.
Not similar to recent times when growth was still fairly modest overall and no one really saw the banking problem occuring this badly

I make no apologies for being provocative, if it provokes people, young and old alike, to think long and hard about what to do with their money, and prevents them taking the advice of people who have a vested interest as gospel.