I just told you as it is. It's simple and straight. If you found that discouraging then I can't help it. I won't consider your 'feelings', but the fact is. Investing will never, take that from me, never make you anything. Fullstop.
Say you have 1000$ in your bank. Now, with the 'hope' of making money off stocks, you invest in whatever equity. And you expect to gain what? If you are realistic here, you will not make anything above 20%, and that too is a far cry. You have to have considerable mastery over fundamental analysis, and I'll tell you this, I honestly believe fundamentals are the last thing that stocks regard. Forget that 20%, your stock could move against you for months, or even years, or just as might do nothing and go sideways. So, again, considering that it works in your favor and your fundamental analysis is proven correct. Even if you did make 20%, how much did you gain at the end of year? 200$, two hundred dollars. And don't forget, you had to risk 100% of your capital. You could have easily lost 200$ on the downside.
Your posts can be hardly discouraging, nor affect anyone's feelings because you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
You chose to ignore my argument about compounding in the hope that your thesis which is short-sighted and has no ground remains intact.
I will make it even simpler for you through an example. Forget fundamental analysis skills (btw, no, equity value
does respond to fundamentals over the long run; if you want, I can provide you with as much evidence as you like in my next post).
If you invested $500 per month in an index fund that grows at an average compound rate of 8% per year, you will have about $670,000 after three decades. If you just put it in the bank or under the mattress, you will have accumulated $180,000. That's almost half a million dollars of pure profit.
You see how just relying on your income power, your persistence with contributions, and time can make a difference?
Now, what would be your advice to someone who can invest $500 per month? To just forget it and have fun with the extra cash instead?
Let me use your argument to show you how silly it is. "Just forget it. In year 2, you will just have made $480. It's not worth it". But who does invest for just one year and expects to make anything? Only bad speculators have such expectations.
In year 3, you have contributed $18,000 and made a $1,478.4 profit
In year 4, you have contributed $24,000 and made a $3,036.67 profit
In year 5, you have contributed $30,000 and made a $5,199.61 profit
Nothing, right?
Skip over to year 20 and your contributions have been $120,000. Your profit? $154,571.79.
Do you understand how compounding works or is it the first time you encounter it? If the latter, I envy you. You can start making good financial decisions from now at least.
Your first fallacious argument is basically that you're not going to make money off of stocks because if you invest $1,000 today and gain 20% after a year, you are going to make $200, which we all agree it's nothing. But you are referring to a specific audience that does have an expectation to
make money as fast as possible through the stock market. But you don't specify that you talk to such an audience, so I feel the need to correct your absolute thesis on the matter.
Your second one is that more or less if you don't get consistent returns, you're screwed. A position can move against me for months and even years (especially because of what I select). But when my thesis is proven correct, my return, if calculated based on an
average compound rate of return, can end up being what I targeted in retrospect.
Same with indexing. If you invest long enough you are going to experience some painful drawdowns. But it's the average compound return that matters.
Fear not, I may be putting an effort into being as clear as possible, but I am not trying to persuade you at all. There are, however, young people who may be watching (now or in the future) these posts. And if they don't understand simple facts like how compounding works, they may get discouraged by your flawed understanding of investing and make stupid financial decisions like leaving money in the bank.
And this is unacceptable. Not that someone may not invest, but that they won't invest because of a short-sighed way of thinking about investing.