Only 5% of active fund managers actually beat the average of the indexes. Investing doesnt have to be complex or sexy to make you wealthy over time. The issue is, most people don't want to take the time to do it. They want it now.
www.benzinga.com
That's a really good point. Too many younger folks who may actually want to do the right thing and plan for a responsible retirement are sold...nonsense. Most managed funds or investments do not beat the stock market average over time (and some of that may be luck or a statistical trick of choosing a certain time window for their advertised gains).
Additionally, a real killer is the "fees" charged up front for these esteemed services. That comes right out of your real earned monies in today's dollars. Point is, that money never enjoys the benefit of "compounding" over many decades. For a manager or a fund charging a high load fee, the impact on
final monies available when you go to the window to get your winnings can be startling.
I prepared some suggestions for a smart mechanic that works with me on building his wealth for himself and his family at his retirement.
We went through a lot of the basics like paying off loans early, etc., but I think he really was amazed at how much more money he could have if he just chose a low load/fee index fund(s) versus the charges he would experience with some managed funds and investments he was being offered.
I wish some portion of investment basics was given more emphasis in school. It's too late to learn it later down the road... If we want folks to take care of themselves later (instead of the government doling out its pittances), we need to offer better tools for the task at hand.
In my opinion, naturally.
