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Everybody is invited to the next AAII meeting. Mark your calendars, Saturday, January 12, 2008 from 8:30 to noon. After the AAII meeting, we could meet for lunch.
Click here for this jammed packed and exciting agenda. Location, directions and time are on this PDF form. You have to register for this event.
American Association of Individual Investors has regular meeting with chapters all over the country. Another DH and I decided to dovetail our local DH chapter with this AAII meeting to jump start our own DH chapter again (Hope this isn't confusing as I am talking about two investment groups). The Diehards have had a few meetings in the last couple of years but it has died. This is one attempt to get the Los Angeles DH chapter going again. San Diego, central and SF all have active chapters.
This is the hard part for DHs. There is a $6 dollar fee for the AAII meeting, in advance 01/07. $8.00 at the door (space permitting only). But for future DH meetings, true to DH philosophy, there is never a fee charged.
Have a good day,
Steve
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L. A. Chapter Of Vanguard Diehards Yes, we do have a struggling chapter
#2
Posted 02 December 2007 - 06:58 PM
Hi Steve,
It sounds like fun. I would go, but I already have something planned: http://tinyurl.com/27wcck
Maybe next time. Best Wishes.
Joe
It sounds like fun. I would go, but I already have something planned: http://tinyurl.com/27wcck
Maybe next time. Best Wishes.
Joe
#3
Posted 08 January 2008 - 01:25 PM
Just pushing this announcement up.
This meeting is this coming Sat.
Hope to see some of you there.
Steve
This meeting is this coming Sat.
Hope to see some of you there.
Steve
#4
Posted 13 January 2008 - 10:26 AM
Hi all
I went with a friend to the AAII (American Association of Independent Investors) meeting. This meeting drew about 300 people, almost all gray haired with just a handful of young people. The first speaker was a fixed income manager. He disclosed that his firm’s investment philosophy as “conservative.” Well, duh, the audience was composed of 99% retired folks so what else is new. How does one speak to an older audience and convince them to invest in his company. Very simply, YOU SCARE the hell out of them. He did very effectively by discussing the consequences of overextended and chronic mortgage leverage by displaying chart after chart of how the financial institutions, corporations and individuals have borrowed more money in the last five years than any period in US history. Each chart s h o t up with more and more borrowed money. His solution to this problem was simple; just invest in energy, commodities, high yield muni bonds and Pimco and you will be safe from the ghastly S&P 500 Index. Why? Because these “asset classes do not correlate with the S&P 500” and Pimco management team is the best in the business (BTW, no mention of the high expense ratios). What a proclamation! Just because energy and Pimco bonds have done well lately and stocks are a high risk for loss, take your money out of stocks and put it in this. He did not say this but what else could a uniformed participant take from this presentation.
At the break, I was standing in the coffee line when I started a conversation with another participant and he mentioned how bearish the first speaker was and I said that I am not worried because I have a diversified portfolio with a 70% bond 30% equity split. Wow, the word “diversified” set him off! I quote: “I will never have a diversified portfolio because you will lose money in the US stock market.” He cut me off immediately. “I am invested in India”, I heard him say to his friend and she said that she was invested in China. It was funny. It is interesting how people react to certain philosophies of investing. Diversification is the new buzz word and it’s politically correct and those self proclaimed “individualists” who are not part of the diversification thoughtless herd, can be proud. I never realized that diversification has negative connotations in INVESTMENTS!
Tom’s Petruno’s presentation was cautiously optimistic. He said that not everybody is going bankrupt in the next five years. But there will be a credit crisis, not a stock crisis such as we had in 2000 that will affect domestic equities. He humbled himself by stating that he doesn’t know which sector or asset class will do well and which will stumble. I think he took a page out of one of Bogle’s many books when he went on and said that people think they are above average, when they are not. Just when you think you got it figured out, the stock market will humble you. His solution was perfect. He told the audience, once more, do I dare say the most bored and obvious recommendation—to diversify. The fellow in the coffee line must have been fuming and will probably never go to another AAII meeting.
I plan on going to future meetings, depending on who is speaking. I might get more involved with AAII myself when I retire to Palm Springs this summer. There is no other investor’s organization here in the LA area that I am aware of. It’s a lot of fun. There is a local chapter in Pasadena that I will be going to and another one in Palm Springs when I retire this summer. The organization’s philosophy is biased towards management and individual stocks. The first speaker bad mouth indexes throughout his talk and of course Bogle’s name was never mentioned. They have an education committee that I will consider joining.
Steve
I went with a friend to the AAII (American Association of Independent Investors) meeting. This meeting drew about 300 people, almost all gray haired with just a handful of young people. The first speaker was a fixed income manager. He disclosed that his firm’s investment philosophy as “conservative.” Well, duh, the audience was composed of 99% retired folks so what else is new. How does one speak to an older audience and convince them to invest in his company. Very simply, YOU SCARE the hell out of them. He did very effectively by discussing the consequences of overextended and chronic mortgage leverage by displaying chart after chart of how the financial institutions, corporations and individuals have borrowed more money in the last five years than any period in US history. Each chart s h o t up with more and more borrowed money. His solution to this problem was simple; just invest in energy, commodities, high yield muni bonds and Pimco and you will be safe from the ghastly S&P 500 Index. Why? Because these “asset classes do not correlate with the S&P 500” and Pimco management team is the best in the business (BTW, no mention of the high expense ratios). What a proclamation! Just because energy and Pimco bonds have done well lately and stocks are a high risk for loss, take your money out of stocks and put it in this. He did not say this but what else could a uniformed participant take from this presentation.
At the break, I was standing in the coffee line when I started a conversation with another participant and he mentioned how bearish the first speaker was and I said that I am not worried because I have a diversified portfolio with a 70% bond 30% equity split. Wow, the word “diversified” set him off! I quote: “I will never have a diversified portfolio because you will lose money in the US stock market.” He cut me off immediately. “I am invested in India”, I heard him say to his friend and she said that she was invested in China. It was funny. It is interesting how people react to certain philosophies of investing. Diversification is the new buzz word and it’s politically correct and those self proclaimed “individualists” who are not part of the diversification thoughtless herd, can be proud. I never realized that diversification has negative connotations in INVESTMENTS!
Tom’s Petruno’s presentation was cautiously optimistic. He said that not everybody is going bankrupt in the next five years. But there will be a credit crisis, not a stock crisis such as we had in 2000 that will affect domestic equities. He humbled himself by stating that he doesn’t know which sector or asset class will do well and which will stumble. I think he took a page out of one of Bogle’s many books when he went on and said that people think they are above average, when they are not. Just when you think you got it figured out, the stock market will humble you. His solution was perfect. He told the audience, once more, do I dare say the most bored and obvious recommendation—to diversify. The fellow in the coffee line must have been fuming and will probably never go to another AAII meeting.
I plan on going to future meetings, depending on who is speaking. I might get more involved with AAII myself when I retire to Palm Springs this summer. There is no other investor’s organization here in the LA area that I am aware of. It’s a lot of fun. There is a local chapter in Pasadena that I will be going to and another one in Palm Springs when I retire this summer. The organization’s philosophy is biased towards management and individual stocks. The first speaker bad mouth indexes throughout his talk and of course Bogle’s name was never mentioned. They have an education committee that I will consider joining.
Steve
#5
Posted 13 January 2008 - 12:35 PM
Hey, Steve. The first speaker's suggested investment mix hardly sounds "conservative," especially for that audience! On the other hand, a sprinkling of commodities, energy and high yield muni bonds could add some diversification benefits. It sounds like he was suggesting more than a sprinkling, though.
#6
Posted 13 January 2008 - 03:48 PM
QUOTE(sschullo @ Jan 13 2008, 10:26 AM) 
“I will never have a diversified portfolio because you will lose money in the US stock market.” He cut me off immediately. “I am invested in India”, I heard him say to his friend and she said that she was invested in China.
Hi Steve,
Well, I guess I had better sell all my US mutual funds and go with India. Apparently, you can't lose money by investing in India. :>)
Best Wishes,
Joe
#8
Posted 17 January 2008 - 09:18 AM
Hi all,
As a followup to the big AAII meeting last Saturday, I went to my local chapter AAII meeting at the Pasadena Lib. About 15 saw a audio PP about two topics, energy and REITS. While I would perfer a more personal presentation, the information was "interesting". Although, I would not invest in either as a sector fund. AAII seems to rely on "experts" from certain sectors of the economy. Once again, similar to the big AAII meeting last Saturday, the big NO, NO is that the presenter compares a sector with the S&P 500 and no other indexes as though its the only index and the only representation of the stock market. The message is that we can do better than the averages. Give me a break!
Unless, we can get a Diehard group going here in the Los Angeles area, I plan on getting more involved with AAII. Heck it is an investing happening right in our own back yard; it may not quite match our philosophy but if nobody from here gets involved and educates them that the averages are superior to trying to beat them, AAII will continue to rely 100% on these "experts."
Steve
As a followup to the big AAII meeting last Saturday, I went to my local chapter AAII meeting at the Pasadena Lib. About 15 saw a audio PP about two topics, energy and REITS. While I would perfer a more personal presentation, the information was "interesting". Although, I would not invest in either as a sector fund. AAII seems to rely on "experts" from certain sectors of the economy. Once again, similar to the big AAII meeting last Saturday, the big NO, NO is that the presenter compares a sector with the S&P 500 and no other indexes as though its the only index and the only representation of the stock market. The message is that we can do better than the averages. Give me a break!
Unless, we can get a Diehard group going here in the Los Angeles area, I plan on getting more involved with AAII. Heck it is an investing happening right in our own back yard; it may not quite match our philosophy but if nobody from here gets involved and educates them that the averages are superior to trying to beat them, AAII will continue to rely 100% on these "experts."
Steve
#9
Posted 17 January 2008 - 10:00 AM
My experiences with AAII members is that they are primarily focused on finding the next outperforming investment such as the next google, next microsoft, sector fund, etc. The tend to ask questions such as is China the best place to invest or what will be the price of gold in 5 years.
#10
Posted 17 January 2008 - 12:26 PM
Intruder,
Couldn't agree with you more. Its a proxy to the wall street mania and "experts" who write those sensational "investment" newsletters that we all get hammered with 24/7. It is still surprising that the members believe this garbage. As I wrote before, this one nut case member had a heart attack when I mentioned in a causal conversation that I have a diversified portfolio.
Still, I plan on joining.
Steve
Couldn't agree with you more. Its a proxy to the wall street mania and "experts" who write those sensational "investment" newsletters that we all get hammered with 24/7. It is still surprising that the members believe this garbage. As I wrote before, this one nut case member had a heart attack when I mentioned in a causal conversation that I have a diversified portfolio.
Still, I plan on joining.
Steve
#11
Posted 17 January 2008 - 04:40 PM
Actually, REITs may act as a strategic diversifier for a portfolio. I believe Vanguard has a REIT index fund available. Perhaps later I will come back with the correlations, but you can find past REIT data from the NAREIT website to run your own analysis.
REITs may include warehousing, office buildings, rental buildings, land, port facilities, and certain mortgage products.
REITs may include warehousing, office buildings, rental buildings, land, port facilities, and certain mortgage products.
#12
Posted 17 January 2008 - 07:07 PM
Chrysoplyae,
I stand corrected. Of course REITS are great diversifiers and the one good talk I heard so far at AAII. I have a little myself. I meant the precious metals, commodities and energy AAII “experts” were talking about. These are extremely speculative, ###### losers. If you have money to lose and many extremely wealthy people do, then invest. But then on the other hand, extremely wealthy do not gamble anyway otherwise they would not be wealthy.
Steve
I stand corrected. Of course REITS are great diversifiers and the one good talk I heard so far at AAII. I have a little myself. I meant the precious metals, commodities and energy AAII “experts” were talking about. These are extremely speculative, ###### losers. If you have money to lose and many extremely wealthy people do, then invest. But then on the other hand, extremely wealthy do not gamble anyway otherwise they would not be wealthy.
Steve
#13
Posted 17 January 2008 - 09:54 PM
QUOTE(sschullo @ Jan 17 2008, 12:26 PM)
Intruder,
Couldn't agree with you more. Its a proxy to the wall street mania and "experts" who write those sensational "investment" newsletters that we all get hammered with 24/7. It is still surprising that the members believe this garbage. As I wrote before, this one nut case member had a heart attack when I mentioned in a causal conversation that I have a diversified portfolio.
Still, I plan on joining.
Steve
At least we agree on one thing.
#14
Posted 23 January 2008 - 06:46 PM
QUOTE(JMacDonald @ Jan 13 2008, 03:48 PM)
QUOTE(sschullo @ Jan 13 2008, 10:26 AM)
“I will never have a diversified portfolio because you will lose money in the US stock market.” He cut me off immediately. “I am invested in India”, I heard him say to his friend and she said that she was invested in China.
Hi Steve,
Well, I guess I had better sell all my US mutual funds and go with India. Apparently, you can't lose money by investing in India. :>)
Best Wishes,
Joe
Hi Steve,
I guess it is a good thing that I didn't get around to investing all of my funds in India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Investo...how/2719699.cms. I am doing a good job of losing money with my domestic porfolio this month. :>(
Best Wishes,
Joe
#15
Posted 23 January 2008 - 11:17 PM
Hi Joe,
Wonder what that fellow is doing now with his India mutual fund. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that AAII is a mere conduit to managed funds at best and newsletter authors with a gimmick at worse. Both are terrible for individual investors best interests.
BTW, we signed up for the DH reunion in San Diego. Should be fun.
Have a nice evening,
Steve
Wonder what that fellow is doing now with his India mutual fund. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that AAII is a mere conduit to managed funds at best and newsletter authors with a gimmick at worse. Both are terrible for individual investors best interests.
BTW, we signed up for the DH reunion in San Diego. Should be fun.
Have a nice evening,
Steve
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