aspiring to genteel poverty
Mutual funds are required to engage only in "safe" investments (long only, no derivatives, only top-grade bonds, etc) ostensibly to protect their unsophisticated retail investor base (the proverbial widows and orphans - which including people's private retirement pensions which in the US are called "401k"). I would say that unsophisticated investors have no business being investors. Widows and orphans should have state pensions instead of being encouraged to take on private pensions on the assurances that regulation makes the investment safe. We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
Yep, you absolutely nailed it. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
For example, take index-tracking "passive" fund managers. FTSE Index rebalance coming up? Gee, all of these people are going to have to sell the Northern Rock stock they hold. Let's do a short sell a little bit before the index rebalance and buy it back from the "safe" managers.
Regulations of "safe" investment funds make the funds predictable and therefore vulnerable, allowing the wealthy and "sophisticated" investors to rip off the funds where small-time "unsophisticated" investors put their savings. We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
As ever, Gordon Brown leads the way, and as we see from the FT front page today - "Lenders seek help to fund home loans" - Northern Rock now looks like setting a wonderful precedent.
ie the the Government should guarantee everything...... "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
</lack of seriousness> Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
