New Study on the Risks to the Stock Market

I wanted to share this new study. It shows that if you invest in stocks, you stand a good chance of having your money taken from you by market insiders.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/b...nted=2&_r=0&hp

If any of you had a grandparent that lived through the Depression, you know that they had some unusual habits when it came to money. If they didn't stuff all their money into their mattress, they spread it out amongst a dozen banks. Nor would they go near the stock market, choosing very safe and liquid investments instead. They knew that banks could fail and the market was a guaranteed way to lose your money. Franklin Roosevelt instituted a lot of reforms that made the markets safer for small investors, but those reforms have all been reversed in the last couple decades. Worse, new "innovations" like high frequency trading have made insider theft even easier. The stock market is again as risky as your grandparents remember it and you should do what you can to behave more like they did with your money. Spread your money out amongst different banks and always keep a big wad of bills on hand. Don't invest in the stock market or any other place where insiders can steal your money.

Some of you know that I worked for a decade in the financial services industry. For eight of those years, I worked for a highly regarded Wall Street bank before it disappeared in the 2008 collapse. I know how this stuff works and I know that the market is as risky now as it was in 1929. My investment advice has been and still is that you should buy land in remote areas that you can grow food on. Invest in tools and materials to farm that land. Don't go near banks.