What are you invested in?

[DC Al Fine]

I'm entirely in index funds right now, following a semi-aggressive approach.

20% Canadian Equity
20% US Equity
20% EAFE Equity
10% REITs
30% Canadian Bonds

I'm up about 9% YTD, almost entirely due to my non-Canadian stuff

[DC Al Fine]

Let's just say I'm relieved to have broken even for the year.

What were you using? I have some vague recollections of you using derivatives.

[DC Al Fine]

Kind of unsurprising that Atlas is full of 1%ers

That's cute.



Yes, only a one percenter could afford $100 in savings to invest in the stock market.

[DC Al Fine]

It's gambling DC... they have $100, but they cannot afford to lose it.  Which they will in some manufactured crisis where the top flexes its muscles and takes more and more.

How does that work exactly? You own a piece of the 500 largest companies in the USA (the fund I posted). The 1% take this from you by creating a crisis and... decreasing the value of those companies that they own?

What am I missing here?

[DC Al Fine]

Kind of unsurprising that Atlas is full of 1%ers

It's now evil to freely invest in the economy! Lmao, you're a joke.

Didn't say anything to the morality of it. It's just that the average joe doesn't own stocks and bonds, unlike the average Atlas poster.

Fair enough. My main quibble is the "1%" own stocks thing. Plenty of non-1%ers own stocks including yours truly. Even more own them when you include DB pension plans. Kentucky Teachers Pension Plan owns plenty of equities, and I doubt you'd call your peers 1%ers

[DC Al Fine]

Mutual funds have such high management fees that they make no sense to invest in unless they're part of a 401(k) plan that your employer is matching. If you're just investing on your own, the expense ratios for ETFs are far more reasonable.

Index funds.  I like Vanguard.  I'm in total market and the long term bond fund.  They have low expense ratios.

Yeah, Vanguards Total Stock Market fund charges like 0.05% in fees per annum. It's trivial. ETFs are good too though.

[DC Al Fine]

Oh, a young person, with lots of expected human capital (has a secure high paying job that can be expected to continue), should be 100% in equities when, like now, market conditions, and the expected equity premia, are reasonably normal. A case can be made for such a person to go over 100%, buying on margin (negative bond exposure as it were), but I digress. For most people however, they should be at least 20% in bonds, until such time, if ever, as they are saving for their heirs, rather than themselves. That is my opinion anyway.

I agree for those who are fairly rational/knowledgeable. I advise most people to be more conservative since they can't stomach the volatility. It seems like a small price to pay. Going 60/40 drastically cuts volatility while giving up relatively little return.

[DC Al Fine]

About half of Americans own stock, for the record. So let's drop the 1% nonsense on that issue.

Nonsense.  Less than 1% own any significant amount.  Your claim is absurd on its face - like saying 'poverty isn't a problem, because I know for a fact that poor people have dollar bills in their pockets'.

Not only this, but most of the peasants who own one month's wages in a 401(k) (on which they are supposed to retire?) are older, and became employed back when jobs at least pretended to offer "retirement plans." What's the average age of Atlas Forum investors?

Torie is 62, Jachind is 41, and I'm 20. Are we missing anyone?

[DC Al Fine]

About half of Americans own stock, for the record. So let's drop the 1% nonsense on that issue.

Nonsense.  Less than 1% own any significant amount.  Your claim is absurd on its face - like saying 'poverty isn't a problem, because I know for a fact that poor people have dollar bills in their pockets'.

Not only this, but most of the peasants who own one month's wages in a 401(k) (on which they are supposed to retire?) are older, and became employed back when jobs at least pretended to offer "retirement plans." What's the average age of Atlas Forum investors?

Torie is 62, Jachind is 41, and I'm 20. Are we missing anyone?

That rich kid, what's his name, Dukie.

Don't forget the smug Swede and bereft Beet.

That's right!  The insufferable Gustaf and the nonentity Beet.

We've a whole raft of guillotine worthies.

Didn't you say you owned motorcycles in another thread? Another hypocritical capitalist owner living off your wealth. I've just got the answer:

Motorcycles are toys, not investments. Much like cars, they cost money to maintain and depreciate quickly as they age. I also doubt opebo would make the effort to own more than one.

He said he owns several old ones and rents them out.