Financial rant...

I'm not an investor. I've never had enough money to consider it on any serious level, and the little investing I do is into a mutual fund account. Fairly safe, quite conservative, not a big deal. Not a big deal except that it's all the money I have to save, really, and it's quite important for me for that very reason.

I know that the type of fund I'm in is a long-term investment. Quite some years ago I had hoped that until I reitre is 'long-term' enough. But every couple of months when I get my statement from the financial institution I note that I've lost more of my investment. It keeps getting smaller and smaller. I now have a terrific amount to make up just to replace the principal. What's wrong with this?

The other night I listened to two investment representatives discussing the market on CBC Radio. I must admit to a few moments of, well, almost rage, at listening to these two gentlemen. They went on, being quite glib and flippant about the way the markets are going and how people have been investing. They were essentially blaming all the losses that people are experiencing on the people themselves for not being knowledgable about the markets and investing in general. What got me riled was that I, for one, and many others, depend on these very people to invest the money for us and we listen to their advice. And now that we're losing money it's our fault? I know the risks involved, and I'm likely going to stop my own small investment as a result of what the market's doing, but to advise people what to do, get paid for doing it, and then laugh at this 'market correction' and all the losses people are experiencing, is just disgusting. It's people like these two who phone me about once a month suggesting I increase my fund contributions or start a new investment. Why? So you can make more commissions and I can lose more money?

The market is, in no way, for the average person. The only advantage to RRSPs is the tax advantage, because you'll lose money on the investments themselves. In fact, banks themselves are good for only one thing - loans. You'll lose money if you try to save it in banks as the transaction charges will outweigh any interest you get. When loans are at 12% and savings accounts are at 1/4 of 1% you know who is making the money. Taking it all home and putting it in a sock under the bed is safer than giving it to a financial institution. And we let them do this to us. Sheep, all of us!