Do You Believe In Real Estate?
If you say that, “Yes, I believe I Real Estate,” then why do you have the majority of your “investments” in the stock market?
Your retirement account(s) are held by trustees or custodians that can only invest in the equity markets (another name for Wall Street). It isn’t that it is against the law for them to invest in real estate, but rather that they don’t understand real estate, and they don’t have the necessary licenses. They are stock brokers, commodity brokers, and insurance agents. They are NOT Real Estate brokers.
They “invest” your money in “things” that pay them a commission PLUS they charge you a fee for that at the same time. They “double dip.” I’m not saying that they are crooks, but you decide.
If you had a self-directed Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) account, then you could invest in Real Estate. You don’t need a license to manage your own investments. But you do need to set up your IRA with a custodian that “allows” you to decide where you want to invest, including in Real Estate.
Almost all company-run retirement plans (401(k)s etc) are actually “managed” by a big investment company such as Fidelity that charges the “plan” a management fee. Then they invest in mutual funds that also charge a fee. Your money could be “paying” as much as 5 or 6% off the top, and then only receiving a return of 8 to 9% on the investment. You actually only make the difference, maybe 3 or 4%. Do you think that is a good deal?
Plus, you are subject to the vagaries of the equity markets. Volatility and crashes are part and parcel of the stock market. It has always been that way. It is how they make their money, by “stealing” yours. Almost all individuals buy high and sell low. They tell you to buy low and sell high, but that is almost impossible. When the market dips, they want you to sell, and after the market “recovers,” they “recommend” that you get back in. Sell Low and Buy High.
Individuals who manage their own accounts generally do much worse than the pros do. They want it that way, so that you will use their services. They want those fees.
Another side effect of having your money “managed” by these guys is that they get to “vote” your shares, giving them control over who “sits" on the boards of these companies, and who they choose to run the companies.
Even though the bulk of the shares are actually “owned” by average Americans who have traditional values, the fund managers lean to the left, so they “pick” other lefties to sit on the boards of directors for the companies whose stock you own. This is adding insult to injury.
They like to tell us that the markets are “efficient.” What they mean is that “prices” are determined by supply and demand. But we know that this just isn’t so. Prices are manipulated in a number of ways. They like to say that future expectations are “priced in.” There was a time when “prices” were a function of earnings (EPS). An earnings per share multiple of about 10 was considered normal. That simply means that a stock valued at one hundred dollars would earn ten dollars per share.
Then the speculators entered the market. They would pay more than one hundred dollars for that share if they thought (or felt) that it would earn more than ten dollars per share in the future. They bid the EPS up to 12, or maybe 15. After all, they were speculators. They were guessing or hoping for earnings growth in subsequent years, so that when the earnings report came out it would support a higher price for the stock.
But some of these speculators have bid prices up more than 100 times expected earnings per share. We saw this in the “Dot Com” bubble of the 1990s. And we are seeing it again in the Tech Bubble now. And some of these companies have ZERO expectations of ever making a profit. Lyft recently had an Initial Public Offering (IPO). They have never made a profit. They lost about a BILLION DOLLARS last year. They revealed in their prospectus that they might never make a profit. So what would be a reasonable amount to pay for a share of Lyft?
There is no rational reason that a failing car company (Tesla) should be worth more that a successful car company (Ford). But when you multiply the market value of the stock times the outstanding shares of stock, that is what you get.
It is shameful. Somebody is getting screwed. Maybe a whole lot of “somebodies.”
It is time to take control of your future.
Take all or most of your money out of the equities markets, and put in something you believe in. REAL ESTATE.
Get started TODAY. Set up a self-directed IRA with a custodian that “allows” Real Estate investments.
You have many choices on how to do this. You could “roll-over” an old 401(k) from a former job, or you could establish a new account and fund it with money you have already paid taxes on (a Roth account) or you could establish a retirement program for your small business (either a Roth or Traditional account).
But the most important thing is to TAKE ACTION NOW. Just do it.
If you need help reach out to a non-traditional wealth manager. They can direct you to a custodian that will be able to provide you with a self-directed IRA or 401(k).
Then start investing in Real Estate. You already believe in it, so just do it. NOW.
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