I have been letting numerous people know about my article reporting on The Silencing of Academic Researcher Wade Pfau by The Buy-and-Hold Mafia.
Yesterday’s blog entry reported my on correspondence with Economics Professor Valeriy Zakamulin. Set forth below is the text of my response to the e-mail by Valeriy detailed in the earlier blog entry:
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Valeriy:
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The Pink Unicorn says
It is a good thing that we have the highly credentialed and well respected financial expert, Rob Bennett to set these silly professors straight. Rob is our only hope to save our personal retirements, which in turn will save the American economic system as well as the overall world economy.
Please, Rob, tell me where to invest my $4 million dollars so that I can be wealthy like you one day.
Rob says
What you are saying is so, Pink. I AM the hope.
Not because I am so smart.
Because I have remained on the path that the Buy-and-Hold Pioneers found for us. It was the Buy-and-Holders who came up with the idea of rooting one’s investment strategies in the peer-reviewed academic research. Do that and you are going to learn from time to time that you have made mistakes because you didn’t know it all in the beginning. And you are going to have to fix those mistakes and move on.
That’s Valuation-Informed Indexing. That’s the difference between VII and Buy-and-Hold. Buy-and-Hold is what smart people ONCE believed works. VII is what smart people who still believe in rooting their investing strategies in peer-reviewed academic research believe works TODAY.
I am the true Buy-and-Holder. Because the primary principle of Buy-and-Hold was to root one’s strategies in the peer-reviewed academic research. And I am the one who INSISTS on that. Even when there is a huge amount of money to be made giving up on the idea of rooting one’s strategies in the academic research and instead pushing the smelly Get RIch Quick garbage that people love to hear during out-of-control bull markets.
The better way to say it is that research-based strategies are our hope. I have become the hope because I promote research-based strategies. it is the idea of rooting one’s strategies in the research that supplies the magic here.
Why?
Because all the humans are drawn to Get Rich Quick schemes. it is a flaw in our make-up. It is the flaw that makes stock investing a risky endeavor.
Following research-based strategies protects us from that flaw. Following research-based strategies turns stock investing into a virtually risk-free endeavor.
That’s very, very, very good news. I am happy that we HAVE hope. I am happy that our best days are ahead of us instead of behind us.
You would rather we all go down than acknowledge that Rob is right that research-based strategies are the way to go. That’s sad. That holds you back. I’d be happy to see you get behind the idea of following research-based strategies yourself.
In any event, I certainly wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
Hope is real. Hope is good. Hope is needed. Hope is positive.
My take.
Rob
The Pink Unicorn says
Rob,
People just can’t take you seriously when you make silly posts like this:
” I should add —
When I am asked to testify re Wade’s actions, I will do all in my power to spin things in a positive direction for him.
That said, I will NOT testify falsely re any important matter.
If Wade joins you Goons in prison, Wade joins you Goons in prison. I can live with that.
I have done my part as a friend by advising him in the strongest possible language (“Are you insane?!”) not to get involved in any way, shape or form with any of the Lindauerheads or Greaney Goons.
Giving false testimony under oath is a felony. Not interested. Please try to find someone else. ”
Rob
Rob says
The Buy-and-Hold Mafia takes me VERY seriously, Pink.
If they didn’t take me seriously, they never would have threatened to get Wade fired from his job:
http://arichlife.passionsaving.com/the-buy-and-hold-crisis/academic-researcher-silenced-by-threats-to-get-him-fired-from-his-job-after-reporting-on-dangers-of-buy-and-hold-investing-strategies-teaser-version/
A failed retirement is a serious thing.
The Buy-and-Hold Mafia has caused MILLIONS of failed retirements with its 11-year cover-up of the errors in the Old School safe withdrawal rate studies.
I OPPOSE the cover-up.
Rob