Separating the Men from the Boys

In Which Rogue Traderette is Torn.

http://roguetraderette.wordpress.com/20 ... -the-boys/

Bear markets have a special way shining the spotlight into our investment souls, and revealing whether ‘investors’ should really be investors at all.

It can be hard living in the real world as a trader/market fiend/investment guru. In the Internet-World it’s easy – we can associate with other traders, discuss strategy and gain insight from people who play the same game we do. Generally speaking, we know what we’re doing.

But the minute we step outside, we run into normal people. Our parents with their annuity. Our brother-in-laws, with their nest-eggs. Our neighbours, who didn’t retire in 2009, and now won’t be retiring in 2012, either.

It makes me sad. These are people who I love. They copped it during the GFC, and are copping it again now, because they’ve put their trust in ‘professionals’.

What they don’t seem to comprehend though, is that they’ve put their whole lives in these professionals hands, not just a few bucks for a special treat. And when their investments (and lifestyles, as a result) have dwindled away to nothing, they’ll blame their advisor.

A relative recently informed me that they’re not interested in managing their money. It’s not their ‘thing’, so they’re handing it all over to their planner to take care of so they can eventually retire off their investments. Which, understandably, sounds fabulous to them. Great rewards for no effort usually does.

But it really isn’t. It’s very much the equivalent of handing your marriage over to a marriage councillor and then blaming them when it fails. You know, because marriages aren’t really your ‘thing’.

We’re going to hear a lot of real people crying soon, blaming the government, blaming their financial professionals because things haven’t worked out the way they planned.

Again.

If the last few days have left you shaking and looking around for your bunny-rug – it’s time to man up. And learn.