Daily S&P 500 INDEX TRACKER

[Hoop]

5. You can still make tons of money in the stock market even if you under-perform the market index.

Could you explain that a bit more please? Thanks.

Hi Belg..I responded to the other but not you..don't feel offended but you did ask a very hard question .

I'll take the chance, not to go completely off topic on this thread

Boring... that statement could be true during secular bull market cycles...however as the rising/falling of the tides tend to raise/lower all boats you can safety say that during the secular bear cycles if you underperform the market you lose money..At the moment many of the 1st world sharemarkets including the S&P500 are in a Secular Bear cycle and have been for 13 years now...this is the main reason why you hear many advisers and brokers not recommending the Buy and Hold Strategy now as B&H performs poorly during secular bear cycles.

Receiving a lump sum pension at the time of a cyclic bottom of a sharemarket during a secular bear cycle could be seen as theoretically the only way a B&H strategy would make money, but no-one apart from the fatalists would ever think of piling all their hard earned money that they need for the rest of their life into a sharemarket that is in capitulating turmoil. Even when the bottom has passed nobody knows that, as the new pensioner have seen previous rallies before and they have all been sucker rallies.. wisdom says "stay out"

I agree in full that one should use a strategy that they best feel comfortable with.

However...Boring you have an unusual psychological profile....I think most of us would lose lots of sleep being totally invested during a bear market with the fear of the unknown..especially during the c-wave..just the thought of waking up every morning and seeing another 1.5% knocked off my ever decreasing capital and another announcement by a company that due to hard times they are lowering/suspending the next dividend...just makes me shudder

..a worse thought... Having this "Smart" idea of realising your losses, let the market fall without you, and put what's left of my money in a bank on fixed deposit then wake up the next morning to hear the news that your bank has gone "tits up".

EDIT: List of Failed US Banks