Is investing in the market essentially legalized gambling?

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
If you were to ask most people if they are gamblers, they would probably tell you "No".
However, if you ask them if they have money invested in the market, either in retirement accounts or direct investments, many would say "Yes".
Aren't we just putting money in the pot, choosing something to bet on, and hoping it turns out to be a win?
 

I think many people confuse investing and playing the market. 🤔

I’m a buy and hold investor.

I make a purchase or two every year and haven’t sold anything since 2012.

I know people that place bets on individual stocks just as if they were at the racetrack or trade the daily swings in one or two stocks with mixed results.

IMO there is really no wrong way to approach investing as long as you understand and accept the risk/reward of your particular approach.
 

When you buy/invest in a stock, the value of the stock can go up, or dive down. Supposedly, a stock purchase is an educated guess, but it still is a guess. So, it's gambling. There's very little difference in someone researching the lineage, and track record of a horse, and placing a bet, or someone researching the track record of a business and its prospects as a company, and buying its stock.
 
We always hear there is more money to be made in stocks, but you should consider your tolerance for risk when you create a portfolio. Whether this is gambling or not depends on how you define gambling. To me, if it involves risk, it's gambling. Personally, I don't like gambling, but I do it all the time. Not so much with my money though.
 
Time is an important part of investing.

On November 14, 1972 the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) crossed the 1,000-point mark and today it’s around 37,600.

Buy an index fund or a balanced mutual fund, make regular purchases, and be patient.

I wouldn’t have anything today if I hadn’t started a payroll savings plan when I got my first real job in 1972.

The hardest thing for me was avoiding the temptation of dipping into my investments and sabotaging my efforts.

Slow and steady wins the race. 🐢
 
I don't know, but I am not the kind of person who can tolerate the stress of market ups and downs, so I simply keep my money in CD's. That may also be a gamble but it's insured. Will the insurance have the funds to cover funds on deposit? I hope so'; maybe not. I could keep it under the mattress, but the house may burn, or thieves could break in and find it; another gamble. Nothing is 100% safe.
 
Savings such as CDs are one of those "three legs" of the retirement funding stool. They're even more important if you are missing the "leg" of pensions and only have SS to prop that corner up.
 
MACKTEXAS said:
I don't know, but I am not the kind of person who can tolerate the stress of market ups and downs, so I simply keep my money in CD's. That may also be a gamble but it's insured. Will the insurance have the funds to cover funds on deposit? I hope so'; maybe not. I could keep it under the mattress, but the house may burn, or thieves could break in and find it; another gamble. Nothing is 100% safe.
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The FDIC usually doesn’t have to pay out much money on a bank failure.

Normally they will take bids from other banks to take over and assume the failed banks liabilities.

During the late 80s and early 90s it was part of my job to help put together bids on failed banks that my employer was interested in.

I worked on valuing the consumer loan and residential mortgage portfolios.

It was very secretive and very interesting. We were never allowed to disclose which financial institution we worked for. I remember that our fax machine identified us as East Coast Olive Oil.
 
Sure, I'd like to see gambling adds removed from TV especially during, before and after Pro ball games.
Pro ball should not be allowed in Nevada, period.

I would think now is a good time to make solid market buys. But not Tesla. I would leave Shopping Center Malls be.
Downtown Large Citys near oceans, Island futures, Nada!

Sure, Downtown DC will be a total loss if the Canary Islands slide into the Sea and Tsunami's No long-term investments east coast.
So many major companies have headquarters there for Gov projects.

SUV's are out, Auto Bubbles are in. Mini Homes are Iffy, 4 family Condo's are in.
Electric bus fleets are definitely the future, fires are in.
 
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Do State Loteries do well tax wise? I'm thinking a Federal Lottery on overspending.
Paying out 10's of billions every few months could coral that pony fast.

You know when you look at the winners just 20 years ago, $Millions and now near $$$ Billion
somehow the odds went way up with the inflation. Are they tied together. What to bet on?
If one were to accept the 30-year payout, what would the tax rate be 25 years in the future?

Should the Lottery be curtailed at the State Line to raise the winner's odds? One Lottery for
Each state, not 3 - 4 - 5 - across mega states.
 
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bobcat said:
Aren't we just putting money in the pot, choosing something to bet on, and hoping it turns out to be a win?
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I think that would be true for day trading in the stock market without a plan. But, actual gambling is (I think) is either win some or lose all, but the stock market has good businesses and bad businesses, if you do research I wouldn't think it is any more of a gamble than actually starting a business would be (so sometimes a failure, but frequently at least modest success).

And with gambling the past provides no help at all with the odds, but with the stock market you can invest in funds that have proven themselves through good times and bad times. Of course, diversity is important because of unexpected sea changes (I forget the right word for that), such as when our phones started having camera functions and then if you'd been invested in Kodak you might feel you'd gambled and lost.

Also you can limit your losses in the stock market (usually), even if you sell low and lock in a loss, you can use the money you have left to buy something better.
 
At one time, I was really absorbed into buying and selling stocks. During most years, I did well. I tried to do as much homework as possible before investing in any company. I wasn't much of a reader of the WSJ. I preferred IBD. I thought their articles were more to the point with less fluff or talking about less important issues just to fill space.

I use to use Scottrade, who sold out to TD Ameritrade, who sold to Charles Schwab and I am still with them. Fast and easy way to buy and sell. Zero transaction fees on buying/selling stocks, ETF's and options. There is also some good reading on their website. I quit buying and selling options, but I still do short selling, which played well for me in the past week.
 
You know Gambling is the Most addictive thing, much more powerful than Alcohol !
People only quit when busted or in an alley, caught on a sucker log in the river, dead.
 

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