If there was anyone on the planet who knew how to play the market, they would be more than happy to manage your money for free in exchange for a cut of the profit. Ever hear of anyone making that offer?
Insurance companies seem to make that claim. And you'd think that any 100-year-old insurance company would have learned enough about investing by now to actually sell an insurance policy that would guarantee a percentage of stock market gains, while protecting you from losses. After all, unlike you, they have the longevity to weather a bear market.
But the lesson that a 100 years of investing teaches is that the best way to make money in the stock market is to scam your investors. Think about it -- even though the insurance company gets to KEEP THE MONEY when an annuity holder dies, they still never really offer a gain that matches even the inflation rate (much less the stock market), after all of their astronomical fees are applied. You'd do better in a savings account.
That's the one thing Fisher gets right. He hates annuities. But that's only because he wants your money, so he can skim 1.5% from your BALANCE (not just the gains!) with no risk to him whatsoever.
There is no passive investment you can make that beats an old-fashioned savings account, in the long run. The only investments I've ever made that beat the market were businesses and properties that I owned and actively managed.
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