It's not a scam at all if you're looking at the right things. It's all about where you put your attention. Take a step back and reconsider why you are losing money and blaming it on manipulation. You can be on the same side as the big money if you take some time to learn what is the true dictator of price action.
When given the choice between a safe bet and a high-risk and highstakes option, chimps will always choose the latter according to scientists. Which may explain the current market situation.
no actually SPX is not manipulated, however, its constituent components are themselves subject to so many various strategies and automated trading engines that they themselves, most of the 500 component equities are unfairly manipulated. given that the top 30 of the 500 stocks within the S&P500 show these irratic trading patterns, then when you combine them into one ETF, whether the SPX or other similar multiple component ETF's, then all those whipsaws are magnified to an extreme. another factor is / are these automated systems don't all fire at the same time, whether using some quant software, auto submission or other electronic method, such that when the index moves it triggers additional actions which are delayed, almost predictably, to within and less than 1.4 minutes of the initial actions. another factor is / are the index balancing actions of other participants that use, trade and represent themselves as major index equivalents, such that they too represent balancing orders that are triggered when the index, and its components move. most of this discussion falls along the lines of basic quantitative execution theorum. when you net, net, net out these significant influences, one draws the conclusions that you mentioned, however the reality is vastly more complicated. what is very good is that these hybrid and double hybrid vehicles exist and attract all this fickle trading, neutral trading, hedge trading and balance fund trading instead of the actual underlying stocks and their equity options, as used to be the case before they were invented.
The instant I read where someone states the Stock market is a scam, I know immediately I am reading the thoughts of a loser.
or someone taking an overly simplistic view of things and drawing conclusions not supported by facts in evidence... so, in a word, we have just said the same thing!
yup, unfortunately OP I agree, its not random, or fixed - far from it, read the tape and the price action and it all enravels itself. takes some time i gerant you, but those who perservere will prosper. Best Kap
the stock market is just a tool of the capitalism economy, a very important tool to redistribute wealth or apply wealth to elevate our living standards, I love it. no stock market, I would think our economy may still struggle in the stone age. it is designed to gather money to set up factories/companies, that is the purpose, so someone may get a job in the new factory/company. at the beginning, it is just a promise, for example recently VISA IPO, the market price is around 60, maybe years late, it looks like MASTER CARD, doubled or tripled, or maybe another BSC. the reason you feel it is a scam is " you did not read the footnote or so called safe harbor: they printed it and said they are trying as hard as they can to make their bussiness profitable or prosper, they admit they may fail because of unforseen situiations". it is human nature: gambling or so called specualtion. that is why we see everyday huge volume, some people just do it for the sake of sell and buy. it is a by-product. whether you are a trader or investor, your bet is not guranteeed! you must know this fact. as for buy and hold, that is the commercial words of those institutions which are doing the bussiness try to lure people into it. like if you yearly gain 12%, every year put "bla bla " fixed amount money, at your retirement age, you are millionarie etc. that is commercials. I do not think your IQ is so low and believe that. anyway, if you want to make money in the stock market, you need deep understand of the stock market or so called knowledge, experience and most important: money. if you just opened an $500 account with Scottrade with $14 round-trip comission, I tell you: you will lose your account whenever you put out a trade! if you have $1000000 with whatever firm or whatever commision fee, you most likely will win big money, turn that $1M into $2M or $3M,.... who has more money who has the more power, that is the reality of the market. look at the wild ocea animal life, you will know: big fish eat small fish
I can't count the number of investor friends that have sent their kids to college by investing and reinvesting dividends in WAG. Others have made money in the stock market and used it to put down on a house. If you are patient and buy conservatively when everyone is selling , and stay away from hype, over your lifetime you won't regret it. nitro