I spend time on firearms/hunting forums (mostly this one) and on personal investing/early retirement forums. I think that if the people on the investing forums started offering opinions about guns, I think they would MAYBE get as f*cked up as some of the posts in this thread, but then again maybe not.
Generally accepted rules of investing
1. Max out any retirement benefit for which you get an employer match before anything else.
2. Max out tax sheltered savings before after tax savings.
3. Diversify across uncorrelated asset classes.
4. Minimize transaction costs.
5. Time invested is more important that timing of investment.
Online brokerages have greatly assisted with personal investing. Kiplinger's Personal Finance October 2017 had the following rankings of online brokers:
Best for mutual fund investors: Schwab
' ' ETF investors: Schwab
" " active stock investors: Merrill Edge
" " investors on the go: E*Trade (mobile platform)
" " for managing cash: Fidelity
" " for retirees: Vanguard.
I have accounts at TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Vanguard, and Merrill Edge, and they really have very strengths and weaknesses.
There is absolutely no need to pay an advisor or high fees for financial products (even though I cannot convince my elderly mother or Mother in law to drop their ("because they are so nice")).
x2
