# Stocks offer the best long term returns or not



## GeneralZod (4 Jul 2008)

Interesting article in today's IT by Charlie Fell.

[broken link removed]

It certainly feeds my prejudice against pension funds and those that promote them.


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## z109 (4 Jul 2008)

Alea blog has a chart of the DOW Jones index expressed in euros:
http://www.aleablog.com/dow-jones-in-euros/
(For those who can't wait to get to the end of the story, almost 50% off since 2001).

Every pension fund I have ever had, has invested its picks in the current momentum trend - dotcom and biotech in the 1990s, FIRE in the noughties, no doubt they are all piling into green energy and agriculture stocks, miners and oil services. Just as the world is about to go into a stinking recession.

I would like many more options for passive funds; index and sectoral trackers, buy and hold bond funds. I really don't want actively managed funds, but it is impossible, as far as I can see to get them with a PRSA.


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## Brendan Burgess (4 Jul 2008)

This is a really interesting and important topic, but why divert it immediately with a discussion of pension funds? 

Brendan


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## z109 (4 Jul 2008)

Brendan said:


> This is a really interesting and important topic, but why divert it immediately with a discussion of pension funds?
> 
> Brendan


Because pension funds are where the majority of the population get their exposure to equities whether they know it or not.


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## GeneralZod (4 Jul 2008)

It could be discussed in the abstract but it's difficult to separate. I considered posting this in the pensions forum. Pensions are the practical application for most people. 

I think yoganmahew's point about the limited availability of funds does deserve a discussion of its own, it's certainly something that frustrates me. The present limited range of funds to select from in pension schemes makes it difficult (impossible?) to pursue alternative strategies. How willing and able are pensions providers, brokers, trustees and regulators to give the consumer products that would give them more information and control. It's possible to do this outside pension schemes so why is it so difficult within them?


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