> If you want security, why invest in anything other than the government?
Because you make more money in index funds with comparable security?
Bonds used to be the principal way to save and invest in the past when interest rates were much higher. Its honestly a bit of a shame that as a society loaning money to the government is such a poor investment - it more reflects on the failings of the state if there is literally nothing profitable they can do with money to justify a competitive return. States can do pretty much anything a company can and more, and in a perfect world would be the best managers of capital. Thats where concepts like single payer healthcare come from, after all.
And add to that that not everyone wants to be a capitalist. Index funds are specialization of labor - let the teachers teach and the doctors save lives while their money is invested and managed by people who are good at tracking markets.
That being said, financial advisory in general is adjacent to such prestigious professions as televangelists and online poker in my mind - the most successful in the business have almost no correlation with actually sane analytical expertise and more to do with who can advertise the best. Fundamentally it is all making educated guesses, and until shit hits the fan people flock to whoever boasts the most rather than whoever is nuanced and rational, at least until after a stock crashes or a market tanks.
I'm sorry it took so many days (11 - this is now on the third page of your userpage so you might not see this) to reply to this: you write extremely counterintuitive and challenging things. (While also supporting your statements with uncontroversial observations that are easy to agree with.)
Thanks for taking the time to reply! I'll reflect on what you've written.
Because you make more money in index funds with comparable security?
Bonds used to be the principal way to save and invest in the past when interest rates were much higher. Its honestly a bit of a shame that as a society loaning money to the government is such a poor investment - it more reflects on the failings of the state if there is literally nothing profitable they can do with money to justify a competitive return. States can do pretty much anything a company can and more, and in a perfect world would be the best managers of capital. Thats where concepts like single payer healthcare come from, after all.
And add to that that not everyone wants to be a capitalist. Index funds are specialization of labor - let the teachers teach and the doctors save lives while their money is invested and managed by people who are good at tracking markets.
That being said, financial advisory in general is adjacent to such prestigious professions as televangelists and online poker in my mind - the most successful in the business have almost no correlation with actually sane analytical expertise and more to do with who can advertise the best. Fundamentally it is all making educated guesses, and until shit hits the fan people flock to whoever boasts the most rather than whoever is nuanced and rational, at least until after a stock crashes or a market tanks.