Poll results: are people crazy?

[Aaron27]

Hi, new poster, so sorry if this is in the wrong place.

I saw the poll on the main page today where people are asked "If the TSP added one new fund, what kind of fund would you like to see?" Majority answer "Gold/Metals" and many say "A bear fund (short)" then oil and other commodities.

1% say they would like a real estate fund.

This is insane! I bet, two years ago, when we were right in the middle of the real estate bubble, if you would have asked the same question, 60% of respondents would have demanded a real estate fund. Now that the real estate bubble has crashed, gold prices are extremely high, and the stock market is in the toilet, people hate the idea of a real estate fund and demand a gold fund and a short fund.

Why? People assume that the way things are is the way things will be. This logic says: the market has gone down 50%, so it must keep going down; gold has gone up, it must keep climbing; real estate is worthless, it will lose more value.

Warren Buffett said in his annual letter this year "When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy."

Why don't people learn? Two years ago there was euphoria in real estate. A year ago there was euphoria in oil. Today there is euphoria in gold. No thanks. I'm with the one percent that says give me a real estate fund!

 

[TRAFFIC_DOG]

Hi, new poster, so sorry if this is in the wrong place.

I saw the poll on the main page today where people are asked "If the TSP added one new fund, what kind of fund would you like to see?" Majority answer "Gold/Metals" and many say "A bear fund (short)" then oil and other commodities.

1% say they would like a real estate fund.

This is insane! I bet, two years ago, when we were right in the middle of the real estate bubble, if you would have asked the same question, 60% of respondents would have demanded a real estate fund. Now that the real estate bubble has crashed, gold prices are extremely high, and the stock market is in the toilet, people hate the idea of a real estate fund and demand a gold fund and a short fund.

Why? People assume that the way things are is the way things will be. This logic says: the market has gone down 50%, so it must keep going down; gold has gone up, it must keep climbing; real estate is worthless, it will lose more value.

Warren Buffett said in his annual letter this year "When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy."

Why don't people learn? Two years ago there was euphoria in real estate. A year ago there was euphoria in oil. Today there is euphoria in gold. No thanks. I'm with the one percent that says give me a real estate fund!

"Why? People assume that the way things are is the way things will be. This logic says: the market has gone down 50%, so it must keep going down; gold has gone up, it must keep climbing; real estate is worthless, it will lose more value."

For some, yes.
For others, though, looking forward we see the only way out of this calamity is to monetize the massive, crushing and otherwise grossly irresponsible debt the government is racking up.

This means simply printing money. Printing more money out of thin air than the world has ever seen. Personally, this is the only option I see as viable. I believe the government already has decided this is the end game.

This means inflation, maybe hyper-inflation way beyond what we saw in the late '70's and early '80's.

If this happens I think the price of gold will skyrocket.

We need a gold fund.

PS- Every single, and I mean EVERY SINGLE investment advisor who I've seen on the tube will say something to this effect... "of course gold should comprise at least a small part of every diversified portfolio".

Are you listening..... you F*&CK!&G criminals in charge of the TSP?

 

[dpmp]

I think we need a few bear funds, one in the opposite of C, S, I. There are plenty funds on the bull side already. Another bull fund won't improve much in a bear market.