Places to invest, other than in stocks...

[R7ehr]

Obviously many differences between the two companies...AF is independently audited, etc..

There are many, many, many, many important differences.

I agree.

[JohnH]

I should note that if the local investment broker is Edward Jones, it's one of the worst places to invest your money or to set up retirement plans for employees.

How so?

My nephew's wife's employer signed up for their plan to manage employe 401k accounts. She, trying to be a responsible citizen, dutifully started contributing to it. Turns out the plan invested her in high-load mutual funds, and also had a $10 a month "maintenance fee".

After she quit that job, there was no way to get the money out. Well, technically she could have, but Edward Jones always found another excuse, another piece of paper that needed filled out, etc. to delay transferring it to another brokerage. (Schwab or Fidelity would have gladly hosted a 401(k) for free - no fees needed.) She had about $1,000 in there. Edward Jones' plan seems to be to keep doing this until the $10 a month fee eats away at the entire value of the account.

On the plus side, my dad learned about this and it helped convince him to move the rest of his holdings out of Edward Jones and into better, more customer-friendly brokerages. A big part of what EJ does is having their "financial advisors" (who are actually just salesmen for garbage-tier high load mutual funds and fee-laden packages) act like they are your friend, and it took a while to bust through this. With Fidelity, they are professional, and will offer excellent service to customers who need it, including in-person offices you can visit, but they don't do a whole route of ingratiating yourself to them so elderly people think they're a friend so they can then take advantage of them to the maximum amount permitted by law.

For an opposing view, check out https://www.jareddillianmoney.com/weekl ... n-vanguard

[redoyja]

Invest in other people. if you have money, go to other people you know that are borrowing money and give them a loan. it really does help a small bussiness or farm. Depending on the level of trust the loan might look different. It also makes a difference on the level of access the lender needs to his capital.

[Signtist]

What connection did AF have with Trickling Springs?

The Trickling Springs financing scheme was run by Philip Riehl who is currently in prison, and others who possibly should be.

He gets out shortly! I rather wish he had taken the deal where he'd have had a reduced sentence if he told the feds who else operated like he did.

[mike]

What connection did AF have with Trickling Springs?

The Trickling Springs financing scheme was run by Philip Riehl who is currently in prison, and others who possibly should be.

He gets out shortly! I rather wish he had taken the deal where he'd have had a reduced sentence if he told the feds who else operated like he did.

I didn't know that he was offered such a deal. I wonder if there really is a list of people out there who are operating like he did.

An older Mennonite man known to have been financially astute and quite well off for much of his life told me that he used to informally help people like widows with investing their money in places to get as good a return as possible, and that since the Philip Riehl/Trickling Springs debacle people have been telling him that this would have been illegal at the time. I think he literally had no thought of doing anything illegal or of profiting majorly himself. And he likely made good investing decisions for those folks, or helped them make good ones. So did Philip Riehl for years until he made a couple of bad bets - Trickling Springs being the obvious one, but there were others that failed before that, which were part of the reason for the financial collapse. He might even have weathered that company going bad if it hadn't been for other losses. People certainly did not turn him in when he was making them money. They turned him in when they started losing.

[Signtist]

I didn't know that he was offered such a deal. I wonder if there really is a list of people out there who are operating like he did.

I'd be very shocked if there isn't. I wonder if he even knew it was wrong when he did it? We all know it's only wrong when it loses money.

[mike]

I didn't know that he was offered such a deal. I wonder if there really is a list of people out there who are operating like he did.

I'd be very shocked if there isn't. I wonder if he even knew it was wrong when he did it? We all know it's only wrong when it loses money.

Exactly.

[JohnL]

What are other places to invest?

I've never played the stock market. If I had the cash I'd be going out and buying land or other real estate. At the rate those prices are climbing it would be a better return without the risks of stocks or bonds. At least around here it would be.

[eccentric_rambler]

I didn't know that he was offered such a deal. I wonder if there really is a list of people out there who are operating like he did.

I'd be very shocked if there isn't. I wonder if he even knew it was wrong when he did it? We all know it's only wrong when it loses money.

And who are you suggesting has compiled and maintained this list?

I don't remember hearing about that offer, but it is long enough ago perhaps I've forgotten. I'll try to check into it.

[Ernie]

What are other places to invest?

I've never played the stock market. If I had the cash I'd be going out and buying land or other real estate. At the rate those prices are climbing it would be a better return without the risks of stocks or bonds. At least around here it would be.

Were talking about where to invest while saving up enough to buy land or real estate.