They keep waving around your retirement account balance like it proves everything is fine. Meanwhile the actual net worth data shows Americans under 55 are getting hammered, and nobody in Washington wants to talk about that.
For over a decade, Wall Street and the financial media told you that rock-bottom interest rates were good and that normalizing rates would be catastrophic. They were wrong on both counts, and a lot of ordinary investors paid the price.
Fidelity dropped the hammer on smaller independent investment advisors with a $100 million minimum or you’re out policy. This is consolidation dressed up as a business decision, and everyday investors are the ones who will pay for it.
The Oura Ring IPO just face-planted because nobody would pay $15 billion for a glorified fitness tracker, and Wall Street’s spin machine immediately blamed “jittery markets.” That’s a lie, and you deserve to know the truth.
Stifel Nicholas is getting hit with another $30 million complaint. A massive hedge fund is staring down IRS enforcement that could be retroactive. And the common thread in every single one of these disasters is the same: someone promised returns that defied all logic, and people believed them because the pitch sounded sophisticated.
For fifteen years, the financial industry told retirees to accept 1% and 2% yields and be grateful. Now that rates are back near 4%, those same money managers want a pat on the back for rediscovering the 60/40 portfolio. I am not impressed.
These Wall Street analysts keep changing their ‘base case’ on live television and the media treats it like serious financial guidance. I’m done being polite about this. It’s a con.
Ameriprise is handing advisors a $1,000 check to offload their smaller clients into a rebranded call center, and they have the nerve to pitch it as a service upgrade. I have been calling out this exact scam since 2000.
A generation is going broke trying to look rich online, and the financial industry is more than happy to hand them the credit card to do it. I have been sounding this alarm since 2004, and it has never been more relevant.
Wall Street’s ‘base case’ S&P forecasts are not analysis. They are a confidence game designed to keep you glued to CNBC and calling your broker. I’ve been watching this racket my entire career and it never changes.
