“There’s No Such Thing as an Expertise That Remains Forever. It Was One Thing to Believe in Buy-and-Hold in 1980. It’s Something Very Different to Believe in it 44 Years After Shiller Published His Nobel-Prize-Winning Research. What Kind of Expert Can Someone Be Who Is 44 Years Behind in His Reading of the Peer-Reviewed Research? “

Set forth below is the text of a comment that I recently posted to the discussion thread for another blog entry at this site:

So you think it is a good thing to not have a degree. Okay, that means you have to throw out anything from Shiller and Pfau if that is the way you want to position it.

I guess we should avoid medical advice from people that have degrees as well, right?

Shiller and Pfau showed a lot of courage in doing honest work. We should encourage that, not threaten the people who do it.

There was a time when medical experts encouraged the use of leeches. Yes, we needed non-“experts” to encourage people to consider new approaches.

There’s no such thing as an expertise that remains forever. It was one thing to believe in Buy-and-Hold in 1980. It’s something very different to believe in it 44 years after Shiller published his Nobel-prize-winning research. What kind of expert can someone be who is 44 years behind in his reading of the peer-reviewed research? I mean, come on.

A true expert would acknowledge that the Greaney retirement study lacks a valuation adjustment. The very fact that I had to say it shows that a lot of funny business has been going on during the Buy-and-Hold Era.

It’s not just about turning a quick buck. Fraudulent investment advice hurts people.

Rob