Everyone knows the old joke about the brokers having yachts, but the customers dont. There is more truth than fiction here. Why dont the customers have yachts too? There must be something wrong. The reason you gave your money to some brokerage company was to have it grow and make income for you but it hasnt. Why? No, they are not stealing at least overtly. Your broker is doing the job he was taught to do have you open an account and help (?) you buy a stock or fund. When a person becomes a broker he must pass certain tests given by regulatory agencies. Once passed his brokerage company gives him two manuals. The first is a list of the regulations. Never break those rules or he is fired. The second manual is how to open accounts and get customers to invest. There is no third manual (the most important) on how to make money for customers and how to protect customers money from loss. The broker might think he knows how to invest (he doesnt), but he definitely is never taught how to protect peoples portfolios when their stock heads down. If the investor is ever going to have his yacht he must learn the latter. Brokers are taught the ten basic rules for customers. They are the Ten Commandments. They should be called the Ten Lies of Wall Street. In a nut shell they are 1. Do Research, 2. Buy and Hold, 3. Dollar Cost Average, 4. Diversify, 5. Buy A Good Stock and Put It Away, 6. You Cant Afford To Be Out Of The Market, 7. Never Try To Time The Market, 8. Rearrange Your Portfolio With Age, 9. Your Broker Will Watch Your Account and 10. The Market Always Comes Back. Brokers and financial planners espouse these platitudes as fact and they do it without thinking. Each one can be proven to be wrong and only lead to loss of capital. Brokerage companies are there to make money. They dont do it by investing their money, they do it by investing your money. They are service companies not investment companies. Each time a trade is made whether it is a profit or loss they make money by providing that service. Brokers are salesmen and it is their job to generate income for the company or they will be fired. The company could care less whether you make or lose. Just send more money and trade. If you want that yacht you must learn not to follow those Ten Commandments. |
