Doctor Hubris (paging Dr. Hubris...)

[VagabondMD]

ENT Doc wrote:

I think the reason you see more bold statements brimming with confidence on FB is because FB tends to bring out the ugly side of people – they don’t have anonymity and want to look/feel special. This happens routinely with individual FB posts and replies. And no one wants to look stupid in front of the masses so they become more entrenched in their positions. This creates dumb arguments between two people who would probably happily share a beer together. Mix this with their biased algorithms that show certain content over others and this is all why I left FB and shan’t return.

Once in a while you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Or in FB’s case, if you don’t look at it at all.

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Three thumbs up for the GD verse.

[MPMD]

ENT Doc wrote:

I think the reason you see more bold statements brimming with confidence on FB is because FB tends to bring out the ugly side of people – they don’t have anonymity and want to look/feel special. This happens routinely with individual FB posts and replies. And no one wants to look stupid in front of the masses so they become more entrenched in their positions. This creates dumb arguments between two people who would probably happily share a beer together. Mix this with their biased algorithms that show certain content over others and this is all why I left FB and shan’t return.

Once in a while you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Or in FB’s case, if you don’t look at it at all.

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That was another piece of info that carried me away from fb. Some investigative journalism pieces about that were really eye opening.

Often said and poorly attributed but always bears repeating: if you aren't paying for a service it's because you are the product.

[wideopenspaces]

Well I have to admit I'm glad to hear that everyone isn't going to stop posting here in favor of FB :-) I quit it like 6 years ago and I don't miss it at all but was a little worried I might miss out now by not joining the groups. So I'm glad to know I'll keep hearing from the regulars here. I love this little forum and the relationships that have formed, along with all of the knowledge I've picked up along the way.

It is surprising to me though that removing the anonymity has made people bolder and more argumentative. I know one reason I am willing to post on the forum is that there is some cover and it makes me less shy. I would have a much harder time posting on a FB group. But different strokes for different folks, as they say.

[Dr.V. Investor]

bean1970 wrote:

Sometimes I feel like a bit of an outsider even here…I have nothing at Vanguard. I don’t do Roth. I don’t have index funds (other than the one in my 401k)

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I hear ya.  It seems like if you are not an indexer, people are quick to say- you are wrong, market timer, will not grow my portfolio.  I am baffled how some individuals can also openly say how many millions they have just to prove a point.  I have been a lurker in most groups now.  I have read some back and forth between individuals that is clearly attacking each other, so it was a big turn off.  Thankfully, that encounter was erased.

[Complete_newbie]

Here is my (hot?) Take:

I took a look at FB group and yea...its not even close to this forum. Infact I am an exclusive forum user everything else is just not up to par or reliable. Also WCI is responsive here and didn't see him at fdbk which makes all those "engagement platforms" not at all useful. Of course n=1.

[Kamban]

bean1970 wrote:

I’m quickly becoming disenfranchised from some of the groups. Someone posted something about buying a stock…since I have nearly all stocks, between my husband and we maybe collect about 80 or so now, i thought I would pipe in only to get flogged. Sometimes I feel like a bit of an outsider even here…I have nothing at Vanguard. I don’t do Roth. I don’t have index funds (other than the one in my 401k)…. But i hit FI in my 40s. i’ll be ok.

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My stock portfolio is similar. I think I have 67 or so stocks. Started in 1990 with Kimberly Clark, P&G and Merck. Still have them. I must have had more that 100 stocks overall but some have become bankrupt and some have merged with other companies, like Gillette.

I did not know better initially and invested in 5 mutual funds. All front loaded with high expense ratio. They were dogs, god awful. All touted by Kiplinger and Money magazine. It soured me off mutual funds for a long time. Only recently I got some Vanguard index funds.

Don't have Roth, HSA or any retirement account other than some small previous employer 401K, that is rolled into IRA. But the taxable accounts and other investments have made me achieve FI. At this point selling the stocks to change to index funds will trigger large capital gains tax so I will stick with multiple individual stocks.

[Dont_know_mind]

Would it be hubris to say the forum is the intellectual version of FB ?   

Hubris is irritating, but when I was young, I too was full of hubris. I still am  :lol:

The market does have an amazing knack of making everyone look foolish at some point though. I think that’s what moderates me now: the recollection of the past embarrassingly wrong things I was convinced about.

On CG: yep, you end up with stuff you’d change if you didn’t have cgt, but hold due to the compounding CGT hit. After compounding for 20 years, you may still be better off with a lower rate of capital appreciation in the next 10 years, without having to pay cgt.

[VagabondMD]

bean1970 wrote:

I’m quickly becoming disenfranchised from some of the groups. Someone posted something about buying a stock…since I have nearly all stocks, between my husband and we maybe collect about 80 or so now,  i thought I would pipe in only to get flogged. Sometimes I feel like a bit of an outsider even here…I have nothing at Vanguard. I don’t do Roth. I don’t have index funds (other than the one in my 401k)….  But i hit FI in my 40s. i’ll be ok.

the knowledge overall is all over the place on FB.  you almost need the system like Apple…where if you can’t find your answer in the FAQ section first then you get on the chat or make a genius appointment. about 75% of problems can be solved clicking buttons online before ever needing a person to ask.

i might just stick to lurking and keep my comments to myself.

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Many of us here use investing strategies that are not boglehead-friendly and as such do not talk much about them here. It might be worth a thread to hash out.

[q-school]

I knew I wasn’t alone in the world.  

many different ways to skin the cat.  I will admit sometimes there are some inefficiencies when I own individual stock and various index funds also own pretty big amounts but got to do something with the money and don’t have all the time in the world.

Most of the stocks I buy are held for real long times. Dividends reinvested.   Steady investing for most of us will be sufficient.   Controlling expenses probably more predictive than any reasonable investment plan.

[Rando]

Vagabond MD wrote:

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Many of us here use investing strategies that are not boglehead-friendly and as such do not talk much about them here. It might be worth a thread to hash out.

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My concern is not that people are using non-Boglehead strategies, it's more that this site attracts a lot of "beginners" and most of its teaching focuses more on simplicity, sticking to a strategy, etc.  A strategy based on stock-picking or timing the market really isn't very compatible with what looks to me like the main focus of the site.

I've bought many individual municipal bonds and have been generally happy with the results, but I would not recommend it unless somebody is willing to put in the research and make the mistakes I did.  I've also traded stock and options, day-traded, etc and found out I wasn't very good at those.

My impression of this site (actually I'm a doctor, I don't do impressions) is that it's geared more towards entry-level investors and avoidance of making big mistakes.  A stray post encouraging market timing or stock picking without discussing the ramifications can do harm.