Written in 2005 when I talked about investing strategies, instead of Couch Potato or Index Investing. Mr. Dent is still giving out advice, so keep that in mind.
So while cleaning out my collection of pornography old magazines, I came across a real whopper of a misread of the stock market and where it might go in the future.
The alleged expert was Harry S. Dent Jr. talking about the stock market, and I quote:
What does that mean for you and me? It means investors would be wise to focus on large, growth companies in sectors that boomers will embrace, such as financial services (stock brokerages and banks), health care (pharmaceuticals, biotechs, and medical equipment) and technology (software, hardware and internet companies)…
We are about to witness the roaring 2000s, the greatest boom in history. If you think we have seen dramatic changes in the past decade, fasten your seat belts and hold on
Harry S. Dent Jr. Playboy January 2000
Internet Bubble
This was in January 2000, just as the Internet bubble was about to IMPLODE. Six months after this article, the world started to figure out that this was a BUBBLE and not a trend, and people who were into High Tech companies lost their shirts, livelihoods, and savings!
Back then, everyone thought it would never end. However, some folks couldn’t understand what it was all based on, and we were proven correct. It was all a big charade!
What is my advice? Talk to experts, listen to experts, but YOU eventually make the decision one way or another, and if it doesn’t smell right to you, DON’T DO IT! Experts are WRONG many times. Do you want to be like some of us from High Tech with our retirement funds shredded? How can you figure out which expert to listen to? I don’t know, but maybe you need to do a lot of research first.
Experts are to be taken with large amounts of salt.
It’s your money, your debt reduction plan, YOU DECIDE!
-$500,000 later, I feel safe in saying, if it seems to good to be true, it is. Duh. Fortunately, we lived within our means and could withstand that kind of devastating loss. But my, oh my, do we view everything with a skeptical eye now.
To use yet another cliche: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!