I am no fan of much of the financial media. With some notable exceptions, it contributes to fear and anxiety, encourages trading and generally acts as a shill for the securities industry -- their primary sponsor.
The daily grist of these shows consists of commentary by smug, highly confident, financial journalists and their guests, who manage money. They regale us with their views, not just on what is happening in the market, but what is likely to happen. The stock picks of the fund managers have the same possibility of being correct as calling a coin flip. Their real agenda is to convince you to invest your money with them.
If the premise of these shows is to get you to trade, by "fleeing to safety" in volatile markets," and trying to figure out when to return to stocks to capture the next bull market, it is working well for them, but not for you. According to Forbes magazine, a majority of investors "consistently buy high and sell low" -- the exact opposite of profitable investing. While you end up holding the bag, Wall Street continues to profit.
You can patiently search the networks and hundreds of cable channels in vain for a responsible financial talk show that is premised on solid, peer-reviewed, academically based, information, geared to assist you in reaping market returns that are yours for the asking.
The information withheld from you is vast. It is set forth in my books, and in books authored by Burton Malkiel, William Bernstein, John Bogle, David Swensen, Jason Zweig, Mark Hebner and many others. Trillions of dollars of really smart money is invested based on the research set forth in these books. If you are like the majority of individual investors, you are clueless. You continue to try to time the market, pick individual stocks or hot fund managers, or purchase variable annuities because you are told they are the "best of both worlds" (protection of capital and participation in upside market potential.).
One reader asked this question: "Why don't you do something about it, instead of just complaining." A very valid point.
I put together what is known in the trade as a "sizzle reel," intended to highlight how a responsible financial show would look. The barriers to getting it on a network, a major cable channel, or on the Internet on a highly trafficked financial web site, are formidable. These sites are largely supported by the securities industry, which has a vested interest in keeping this information from you. Yet, there are some bright spots. Intelligent, index-based, investing is growing at a rapid pace. Major fund families like Vanguard, State Street Global, BlackRock and Dimensional Fund Advisors have trillions of dollars invested consistent with the message in this proposed show.
The sizzle reel is embedded below. Take a look and see what has the "masters of the universe" privately cowering in fear. They have used the power of their huge advertising budgets to be sure this show doesn't make it into your home.
They should be scared. This is the show Wall Street doesn't want you to see:
Dan Solin is a senior vice president of Index Funds Advisors. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read, and The Smartest Portfolio You'll Ever Own. His new book is The Smartest Money Book You'll Ever Read. The views set forth in this blog are the opinions of the author alone and may not represent the views of any firm or entity with whom he is affiliated. The data, information, and content on this blog are for information, education, and non-commercial purposes only. Returns from index funds do not represent the performance of any investment advisory firm. The information on this blog does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice and is limited to the dissemination of opinions on investing. No reader should construe these opinions as an offer of advisory services. Readers who require investment advice should retain the services of a competent investment professional. The information on this blog is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any securities or class of securities mentioned herein. Furthermore, the information on this blog should not be construed as an offer of advisory services. Please note that the author does not recommend specific securities nor is he responsible for comments made by persons posting on this blog.