I always wondered what exactly do they do. After all, the death rate is more or less constant at one per person
Or LNKD. There are many black swan examples. This is why I'm amazed each time someone recommends naked short options on individual stocks. Not only it exposes you to huge risk, it is also very inefficient use of margin.
I've got a buddy who's a very smart/savvy investor, and ......... and a dumb trader. -- He trades a full-time account(s), with part-time hours. -- He is a ferocious GAAP/dividend/PE proponent (where most of his capital lays), but he works a ferocious short+naked option inventory (where most of his risk lays)... ... He's playing a video game. When things go well, he says to me, "You're doing it wrongggg, mannnnn." complete with a 'tsk tsk tsk' thrown in. And when things go pissy, he moans like .... well, you know the drill: self-flagellation writ large. He's a lawyer, who *hates* law. He has made considerable bucks in real estate, but fears it entirely too much, to consider it his full-time gig. (He loves the idea of "Multiple Streams Of Income", but can't seem to apply it to himself (e.g., organized time allocation), and still be comfortable. So he does *many* things, ....... sometimes pretty half-assed. "Oi!") And he *loves* active trading, but can't seem to allow that it can be *fun*, be *rewarding*, and still be moral or worth-while. So, he's a part-time trader, who swings sizeable digits on trades that really demand face-time, and then bops off to hearings, closings, etc etc etc.. And then he feigns surprise when a flock of black swans wheel in and nestle in his portfolio. And, to bring us back around, although he very well knows better, he can't seem to stomach PAYING for protection, to go from naked to a spread. "Dude! Would you go into an apartment project without 100+ percent of that puppy covered by insurance??" Noooo-oooo. "Then what the hell??" A smart guy. But, ..... None of us are perfect. (That's a bottom-line, for a lot of life, eh?)