Today resident Slog expert and proud Canadian nationalist Will in Seattle provided the following investment advice:

But, yes, the best thing anyone under the age of say 60 can do is start putting money from each paycheck into a 401(k) or 403(b) low-cost index fund. Total Stock or US Stock is ok, but in general S&P 500 is the best choice due to the nature of financial cycles at this point.

Neat. Let’s do that. After the closing bell today I ‘purchased’ $100,000 worth of VFINX, the Vanguard low-cost S&P500 index fund—about 1,500 shares at $66.63 apiece. Until I lose interest, I’ll track the performance of this investment.

In fact, give me your suggested investment (starting today, and if it’s something reasonable) and I’ll do the same for you. Consider this the Slog virtual investment deathmatch. Who is the smartest luckiest investor? Who really knows how to play the markets?

Jonathan Golob is an actual doctor.

58 replies on “Slog Virtual Investment Deathmatch”

  1. Thanks, investing monthly.

    Just an aside – other than for people in their 60s, this is a good time, because the overpriced assets we called stocks and homes are now a lot cheaper, so it’s a lot easier to buy a house or invest with a higher rate of eventual return now than it was during the Bush Regime.

  2. @49 – actually, you then pay fees – but if you have an automatic paycheck set-aside they waive it, provided you continue to invest – usually …

    Just remember, Warren Buffet stopped buying US stocks for a couple of years, and only recently started to buy them …

  3. @46

    But that requires more active participation in the account. There is also a killing to be made in UYG, URE, when they hit bottom (did you see the ~40% climb of FAS yesterday?)

    Theres also the risk that any of these ETFs or ETNs could go tits up, if the provider goes tits up. The same is true of any company and their stock

    Dollar cost averaging in an index is boring but it’s sound advice for the average investor squirreling away their money monthly.

  4. I refuse to engage in anything where Will in Seattle is featured. It’s like the bits of good stuff that came out of the Bush Administration, it might be okay but it’s still tainted and you’re wise to be suspicious of it.

  5. You should be wary of his long call on Ford. There are so many more companies that don’t have bankruptcy potential and are at that price, also have a recent history of positive earnings, paying a dividend regularly, and aren’t controlled by a deranged family via different class of shares.

    The Ford call has too much risk for the potential reward. The potential reward based on the idea that it will return to previous valuations at some point in time, and they alone will.

  6. What’s up with the Vanguard/Alito hint of corruption? Speaking as someone uncomfortable with the possible ethical problems of my Vanguard IRA. Including the fact that it’s bound to contain some oil, Halliburton, etc. etc.

  7. There are ethical funds, but most of them severely underperform the market.

    Even so, a low-cost socially conscious mutual fund should still do relatively well.

    Domini had some good ones as I recall, but the best one I ever had was the VanCity Ethical Growth Fund (back when I had an RRSP). I think TIAA-CREF offers some, and maybe Fidelity and Vanguard.

  8. @49: There is no penalty for dropping below $3,000. That’s just the minimum initial investment in most of their funds. It is true that they charge $20/year for some funds, but it can be waived, and not by having direct deposit. In short, if electronic delivery of your statement works for you, you should be able to avoid the $20 fee. I quote:

    For nonretirement accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, UGMAs/UTMAs, SEP–IRAs, and education savings accounts (ESAs):
    Vanguard charges a $20 annual account service fee for each Vanguard fund with a balance of less than $10,000 in an account. This fee does not apply if you sign up for account access on Vanguard.com and choose electronic delivery of statements, confirmations, fund reports, and prospectuses. This fee also does not apply to members of our enhanced services, which require a minimum of $100,000 in total eligible household assets held at Vanguard by you and your immediate family members who reside at the same address.

    Eliminate this fee by registering for our convenient e-delivery package.

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