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bradland t1_j2yc6w7 wrote

Reply to comment by TrueBirch in 2022 Asset Return [OC] by rosetechnology

The key point is that the past does not always predict the future. This is literally the disclaimer at the bottom of every credible financial analysis you'll ever find. The belief that the stock market will always go up over the long term is as much hocus-pokus as it is sound financial theory.

I'm not offering any specific advice here. I'm not suggesting one should/shouldn't invest in the market. I'm simply pointing out that "the line has always gone up so it will continue to go up" is not a sound basis of reasoning.

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TrueBirch t1_j2ytuz7 wrote

The problem with any investing strategy is that... you have to make an investing strategy. Keeping your cash under the mattress is as much a strategy as dumping it all into cryptocurrency. The nice thing about an index fund is that there are a bunch of methods that are tax preferred, so you can come out ahead of the mattress strategy even if the market stays flat.

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