AP impact: ordinary folks losing faith in stocks

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_INVESTOR_REVOLT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-27-17-17-47


In this Sept. 12, 2012, photo, Andrew Neitlich poses in front of one his investment homes in Venice, Fla. Neitlich once worked as a financial analyst picking stocks for a mutual fund. During the dot-com crash 12 years ago, Neitlich didn't sell his stocks, but like many others he is selling now. An analysis by The Associated Press finds that individual investors have pulled at least $380 billion from U.S. stock funds since they started selling in April 2007. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Andrew Neitlich is the last person you'd expect to be rattled by the stock market.

He once worked as a financial analyst picking stocks for a mutual fund. He has huddled with dozens of CEOs in his current career as an executive coach. During the dot-com crash 12 years ago, he kept his wits and did not sell.

But he's selling now.

"You have to trust your government. You have to trust other governments. You have to trust Wall Street," says Neitlich, 47. "And I don't trust any of these."

[SoCalDem]

1. DUH !

the Market" was never intended to be "for the little guy". When I was young, the "financial stuff & the market stuff" were relegated to a newspaper page...well beyond the "real news" & the classified ads.

If people wanted to invest money, they mostly did it locally, into businesses they knew, were related to, or trusted.

PEOPLE HAD PENSIONS THEN..... and they got a decent return in interest in their savings accounts...and then we all had Social security to rely on. There was NO NEED to gamble on stocks.

The "long-con" started in the early 80's when companies found put they could start eliminating pensions & could steer people into self-funding 401-ks they could not touch and the bosses could just match a small amount for those willing to try it..and be free of responsibility for employees.. If they fired someone before they were vested, it was particularly lucrative..and since many employees started to get paid less back then, many of them could not afford to take less take-home pay, so they did not participate at all or did so at the minimum.

Also, the tv investing channels popped up around then as did day=trading (came along later) and the whole "idea" of ordinary folks hitting the jackpot, became the way many people saw their retirement playing out.

People learn very little in school about money management and how the stock market works...or the depression or the earlier stock market crashes..

TRowePrice/Ameritrade. et al are not in business so YOU can have a comfy retirement.. They are in it to extract as much money as possible from as many people as possible, for as long as possible..and avoid legal entanglements for their bad advice..

Madoff's "customers" got glowing "reports", and were rich-on-paper...until they needed to actua;ly take possession of "their money"..

[xchrom]

2. +1

[HiPointDem]

4. +1

[B Calm]

3. Americans need to face up

to the fact that their 401K $20k, $100k and $500k stock investment portfolios are not going to do any thing for the economy. Not while big companies like Microsoft are taking their profits to invest in China, India, Brazil and Eastern Europe.

The bottom line is the average investor is subsidizing Global industrialization with no benefits for them. Once they wake up to this fact the market is going to get dumped big time.

[aquart]

5. When stocks stopped giving dividends, I thought, "HUH?"

Essentially, you pay real money for a virtual reality. Wall Street is a video game.

[DotGone]

9. It became a shell game of whose the last sucker holding the bag n/t

[liberal N proud]

6. And this is where they have stuck all our retirement plans

Moving from pensions to 401K's puts all the retirement money into the stock market where the wealthy can suck out with out any paper trail.

The stock market was never intended for the little guy, it is for BIG money only!

[bemildred]

7. Ordinary people don't have stocks.

Another chump gets wised up.

[raouldukelives]

8. I was hoping it was people who decided they didn't wan't to profit from climate change anymore.

Or slave labor or killing poor people or drug cartels or denying life saving medical procedures just to make a quick buck.
Sadly its just that they don't profit as much from destroying futures and lives as the bigger players. If only they could learn to share the blood money more often they'd be in on it again.

[Ilsa]

10. Well, yeah, since the game is rigged,

why would I want to play?