Dave,
Your post indicates that you have no understanding of the type of clientele I serve. My typical client is a business owner or professional who doesn't have the time to spend researching and monitoring his portfolio. To effectively select and trade individual stocks, one needs to be in front of a screen during market hours, and spend a considerable amount of time researching new and existing ideas. I spend a minimum of 5-6 hours a day researching. I am on a first name basis with most or all of the companies' CEO's that I recommend. That kind of in depth knowledge and information is priceless, wouldn't you agree? My clients do, my recs have consistently outperformed the market every year I've been in business. I did some calculations last night and the average gain for my clients' portfolios, year-to-date, is +18%, and my top three selections are up 25%. Show me an index fund that has done that--you can't. Seems to me the Dow is up around 5.7%, the S&P500 is up around 6%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up around 7% for that same time period.
I will be the first to admit that there are A LOT of brokers who are in this for nothing else but to line their pockets. But to group all brokers together, as Brinker does, and say we are all crooks is insane. If you have the time to do it yourself, more power to you. Fortunately for me (and my clients) there are a lot of wealthy individuals who don't or choose not to.
Brinker's pompousness reminds me of the adage, "Those who can... do. Those who can't...teach."
Gary |
