Quote:
Originally Posted by driveby
401(k) is an institutionalized financial program whereby a large number of middle-class Americans provide a significant percentage of their income to "trusted financial institutions" to manage as those institutions see fit...with potentially disastrous results for the individual.
This program relies on a number of tenuous assumptions regarding future US tax law, market trends, and inflation...all of which are beyond the ken of the typical individual investor.
In a nutshell...401(k) provides a government-approved buffer for financial institutions...a false sense of future financial security to many individuals who contribute their income...and a ready source of bonuses and salaries to bank employees. 
 
-Jeff
p.s. I also buy all my vehicles with cash.  |
That's down to regulation surely, if the selling of these products is badly controlled then unsuitable investments will be sold.
In UK, we have a Self Invested Pension Scheme (SIPP) where anyone can make contributions from pre-tax earnings and select the shares or unit trusts themselves - some providers charge handsomely for using this but others discount the bid-offer spread and rebate their commission. Share investment does require detailed knowledge but unit trust investment is easier for the lay-person to understand.
The recent world recession has hit share/unit prices but dividends are holding up very well - indeed the low share/unit prices give an excellent opportunity to "buy low" with any excess dividends.