As a financial journalist, I talk to lots of financial planners and investment advisors on a regular basis. One common thread in their comments is how hard it is to make money – or, more accurately, not lose money – by investing in the financial markets.
"Almost nobody ever makes money consistently over time in the stock market – I mean almost no one," says one adviser who's been in the business for more than 30 years. If people make money one year, or even three or four years in a row, they wind up losing it when the correction comes, and then they're back to square one – if they're not actually in the red.
Indeed, the goal for many advisors is simply to "preserve capital," as they say in the business, which simply means not to lose money. "You win by not losing big," this advisor says. "Make it and keep it," says another, who's been managing clients' money for more than 50 years.
Why such modest goals? Continue reading "The Easy Money Has Already Been Made"
