Really, most don't give a shit any more. They are looking more for capital preservation than taking on bets in a market that is full of bullshit. The wall street game is slowly losing interest. I sense that with the people I talk to most between the ages of 30-50yo. The younger crowd doesn't follow the markets much - most don't even save. They put it in their 401K funds at work and choose the most conservative fund. Most I talked to just leave it in money market and a few just spreading it out among index funds.
That's good. In fact, it'd be even better if MORE people didn't give a rat's ass about the bs stock market. There's still waaay too much interest. These things have generational cycles.
Generational cycles indeed. Especially when the baby boomers start passing away and transfer goes to the children who don't know how to save and spend like no end.
I just did a whole bunch of backtesting on the stockmarket using OHLC tape driven type methodologies and whats really startling is how little edge there really is in most strategies that trade like that. Its not even possible to take a really bad strategy and reverse the signals in order to make money. All of the strategied tend towards the same directionless malaise. They literally make money sometimes, and then the pendulum swing to the opposite tendency in order to eradicate the gains. In other words the market is very delta neutral over time for the most part. There was a pronounced Long only bias but in a 8 year upterdning market this is hardly suprising and still really didnt yeild very good results. I think that this observation rings true for most people who take the stock market seriously and that is why they stay away for the most part.
Good thread ... the market is a bunch of computers looking at each other. Retail interest will come back .... things will change again .... we will have another 1999 .... someday
OP, changed your thread title to something more civil. Swear all you want in the thread (within reason) but don't put it in the title of the thread because it shows up in search engines. Thanks.
Most people that complain about the markets are those that are unable to derive consistency from trading. The losers always complain after they lose they have to blame somebody so why not blame the market. However when their winning they say I'm a genius I'm a guru let me teach you how to trade. This Bear market has kicked many a guru in the face. Ask yourself where are all those trading rooms from the 90's? In a Bull market everyone's a great trader. In a Bear market they shout we need financial reform so that its illegal for the market to ever go down. They want you to go to jail if your short this market. They want to make it impossible to make money on the down side. Only the elite want to be able to short. I say let those that can trade do so without gov't interference. The markets need to be free markets. They need to do away with the uptick rule and the pattern day trader rule. We don't need the gov't to protect us. We need the gov't to stay out of the free markets and stay out of corporations. Its not the job of the gov't to run companies. Its not the gov't job to run hedgefunds or private equity funds.
1) How big of a sample are you including in your opinion here? 2) It's relative on who you are talking to b/c the people I associate with are at the very least knowledgeable and interested in the markets and how to maximize their money. 3) It's funny that of all times, you say now people are not interested in the markets when I find it just the opposite. People that know I am in the markets love to ask questions now since the general media is talking about the big drop or other news related to the markets. In every generation there are those that spend and those that save. There are plenty of older people that live purely on social security b/c they spent their entire liftetimes while there are plenty of younger people that are living below their means and saving as they go.
Yes this is very true. One of the first and best Internet sites for tradingmarkets.com has been running the same posts over and over again. Looks like they will be closing down shop soon. Interest is finished in the stock market.