quite interesting thread…
i wish i had become a trader of someone else’s money. had i known what a trader was when i was, say, 11, I’d be one now. Instead, I knew what a computer was, hence, I’m in the IT world making much smaller bonuses.
So, since I’m an average guy, I kinda agree with Bluemoon’s take. It would be MUCH harder for me to make $1MM trading stocks than investing in RE, because I cannot get the leverage nor the information to buy enough stocks.
Yes, I can get pretty good returns using a DCA model to buy funds to hold for the future, with an expectation of an increase in value of my overall portfolio. However, I don’t know how to buy stocks at 30% - 50% discounts, financed at 7%, like I do homes. I don’t know how to find a distressed stock, determine it’s ARV, and fix it up.
Traders are not average people who invest. Traders are specialists who get paid to make the right decisions with OPM.
Rookie is right… Hired traders make a killing. The people they trade for make more. Traders who make a lot trading for others have the skills, tools, and funds to make good money for themselves.
Bluemoon is right… Most people aren’t traders and do not make trader-like returns in the stock market. Most people are investors looking for a relatively safe and predictable return (S&P average). Most people, myself included, are very unlikely to become wealthy trading.
I have a job. I invest in both RE and equities. I am not wealthy. I believe I can control the RE investment process to a great extent and for a greater return than I can the equities investment process.
Neither is ‘simple’ but RE investment has a much lower barrier to entry (in my case, good credit and education about how it works.)
Feel free to tell me how I can use my good credit to control millions of dollars worth of assets with limited down-side risk. I don’t care if it’s equities, real estate, automobiles, textiles, or whatever. As long as it’s legal and makes money.