How’s the stock market?

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
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Just got off the phone with TIAA. They confirmed the above options are the only options.

They said the variable annuities are actually mutual funds and that they just have to label them as variable annuities because they can be converted to variable annuities if she completes the paperwork.

I confirmed that with them twice.

WTF?
 
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kelpcutter

Gerry Lopez status
Aug 24, 2008
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I would select the variable rate annuity and contribute enough to get the full employer match. Take the money.
 
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Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
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Okay so QCEQRX says it's a Russell 3000-benchmarky-like fund. The Russell 3000 is a little under 3% off the S&P 500 year to date.

If there's an S&P 500 fund I'd personally pick that.

Unless this convert to annuity means they wait until you're senile, pocket your nest egg, and give you a mustard packet from McDonald's, I'm with kelpcutter above.

We had to sign up for new health insurance, and I've never used it other than HSA investing. They tell me to fill out the form and select, and I was like, I thought it was just HSA-ing over like before. The lady tells me I'm on a PPO. Like, employer HSA contributions, deductions from my paycheck, winding up in my HSA, but I'm not on a high-deductible HSA plan or some sh!t??

Give me warlords, pedos, Dual Factor Authentication, ScamToken, and Romanian hackers addicted to huffing glue for the honest simplicity win.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
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It would be really interesting to see just how much online/no fee trading has contributed to the bubble at hand.

Anyone want to place bets on the % correction that will take place?
 

LifeOnMars

Michael Peterson status
Jan 14, 2020
3,164
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It would be really interesting to see just how much online/no fee trading has contributed to the bubble at hand.

Anyone want to place bets on the % correction that will take place?
see the bet I have with Mr. Doof, S&P under 3700 by the end of April. how much you willing to lose? :monkey:
 
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grapedrink

Duke status
May 21, 2011
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It would be really interesting to see just how much online/no fee trading has contributed to the bubble at hand.
Im not sure if it matters that much. Free and low cost trading has been around for a long time. E Trade had $9 trades over 20 years ago, which was a bargain compared to Schwab charging $29/trade.

Anyone want to place bets on the % correction that will take place?
Not really, but in these threads lately it seems like you are looking for confirmation bias to justify not investing more in the last several years. You certainly deserve credit for your savings habits but you could’ve done far better with even a small degree of risk.
 

skullver

Gerry Lopez status
Jul 28, 2010
1,166
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the tube
It would be really interesting to see just how much online/no fee trading has contributed to the bubble at hand.

Anyone want to place bets on the % correction that will take place?
I doubt it is signficant. There has been some ridiculous unwinding of leverage events of supposedly "smart" institutions, that were not fueled by retail traders, other than MM's getting greedy/over leveraged and getting fleeced on meme stock option gamma.
see the bet I have with Mr. Doof, S&P under 3700 by the end of April. how much you willing to lose? :monkey:
Oof, I won't take that bet, although that would be something to see. Once the Apple starts falling from the tree....look out below. The rest of the fractured beams holding it up will likely remain fractured until it all falls down. The shorts are still active, but once they start sitting it out, things will get messy....
 
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casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
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Im not sure if it matters that much. Free and low cost trading has been around for a long time. E Trade had $9 trades over 20 years ago, which was a bargain compared to Schwab charging $29/trade.
Yes, but surely a bunch of free trading apps and the accessibility they afford have had some degree of significance.

The Robinhood/Gamestop debacle would be a minor example of the broader degree of significance I would think.

A lot of people treating it like a game and see it as entertainment.

Not really, but in these threads lately it seems like you are looking for confirmation bias to justify not investing more in the last several years. You certainly deserve credit for your savings habits but you could’ve done far better with even a small degree of risk.
I was actually investing more than I thought.

I don't ever look at my paycheck so I had no idea how much I was actually putting into my 401a.

It was about double what I thought.

I'm in good shape.

That will change soon. No place to run.
 

grapedrink

Duke status
May 21, 2011
25,945
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Yes, but surely a bunch of free trading apps and the accessibility they afford have had some degree of significance.

The Robinhood/Gamestop debacle would be a minor example of the broader degree of significance I would think.

A lot of people treating it like a game and see it as entertainment.
Yeah I could see the apps playing a role in combo with stimulus money since the pandemic. Especially with crypto.



I was actually investing more than I thought.

I don't ever look at my paycheck so I had no idea how much I was actually putting into my 401a.

It was about double what I thought.

I'm in good shape.

That will change soon. No place to run.
That’s good.

What might be the biggest driver of all of this asset inflation is that savings interest rates are so low that you have to park your money elsewhere, or else it’s actively losing over the years. I didn’t mind gambling $10k on crypto this year because if I kept it in savings, it won’t be worth much in 10 years so what’s the point? Yolo that sh!t :beer:
 

skullver

Gerry Lopez status
Jul 28, 2010
1,166
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Yes, but surely a bunch of free trading apps and the accessibility they afford have had some degree of significance.

The Robinhood/Gamestop debacle would be a minor example of the broader degree of significance I would think.

A lot of people treating it like a game and see it as entertainment.
The Gamestop debacle was probably kicked off with retail frenzy very early on, but at the peak it was tutes smoking tutes. The order flow was well beyond any retail levels.
 
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Subway

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 31, 2008
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see the bet I have with Mr. Doof, S&P under 3700 by the end of April. how much you willing to lose? :monkey:
Yeah that’s gonna get interesting soon boys. I’m still betting Doof is right. So far nobody has taken me up on my $500 side bet that Doof wins that contest. Offer still stands
 
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Subway

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 31, 2008
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FWIW if there even IS a bit of a pull back and a few weeeks of losses, I don’t see us being below 4000 before April. 3700 would be a low not seen in about a year and a half. And after years of gainz, even that kind of pull back would just scream “buy the dip” now that the masses have learned how to do that with coin base, they’ll do it with their Ally accounts for free. Hell if we even get CLOSE to 4000 I’ll double my 401 with draw for a bigger buy with a modest market correction. If we got to 3700 I would start investing even non 401 k cash in index funds
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
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Petak Island
The Gamestop debacle was probably kicked off with retail frenzy very early on, but at the peak it was tutes smoking tutes. The order flow was well beyond any retail levels.
Right but I'm talking on a broader scale.

Take me for instance.

All the data on Omicron seemed to be pointing in a good direction over the past weeks (despite the media panic) and looking at historical prices for Carnival/CCL the other day made me to speculate it was a good buy.

Now I'm up 19%.

People didn't used to throw around money in the market like this. And not from their smartphone.

And there are millions more just like me that have piled money into garbage like DoorDash.
 
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skullver

Gerry Lopez status
Jul 28, 2010
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Right but I'm talking on a broader scale.

Take me for instance.

All the data on Omicron seemed to be pointing in a good direction over the past weeks (despite the media panic) and looking at historical prices for Carnival/CCL the other day made me to speculate it was a good buy.

Now I'm up 19%.

People didn't used to throw around money in the market like this. And not from their smartphone.

And there are millions more just like me that have piled money into garbage like DoorDash.
I just don't think it adds up or is focused enough to have a profound impact as a whole. Nice trade, CCL is still well below the pre-covid levels, understandably, but it could have also gone south if Biden started babbling about lockdowns etc.

The algorithmic high frequency trading is definitely something to watch in action. It is fairly clear when they are turned off as a whole, trade volume/price action dries up quickly. I can see that an increase in retail participation, mostly the options market, definitely put the market makers in a frenzy so they could collect all that stimulus money, but I think as a whole, they feed off of eachother, we retail traders just try and make a few coins within their moves. It's an interesting question. I watch order flow and option data quite a bit and it is rather clear to me that it is not even close to a majority retail activity.
 

skullver

Gerry Lopez status
Jul 28, 2010
1,166
77
48
the tube
Right but I'm talking on a broader scale.

People didn't used to throw around money in the market like this. And not from their smartphone.

And there are millions more just like me that have piled money into garbage like DoorDash.
One could ask themselves, what portion of the market would hold up if big money exited en masse and it was left to retail traders? I would say a very very miniscule portion. I can see that with social media, some of the small float micro caps get strategically hammered all at once, shorts pile in, cover etc, but they quickly fade out. The meat of the market is probably not really feeling any effect of increased participation.
 

LifeOnMars

Michael Peterson status
Jan 14, 2020
3,164
2,106
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Didn't I push to set up an offer on your $100K end of year BTC prediction?

But you were too pussy to engage.

I doubt you'd even make good on the bet.
it's 100 dollars :monkey: i'm pulling in 1k a day in OHM forks by doing nothing, what tracker fund offers that? :roflmao:

it's obvious BTC ain't hitting 100k this year, still I believe we touch near there +/- 5k in the next few months.

care to make a wager or is your muff too sore from last night? tell your wife's boyfriend to take it easy next time. daintiness like yours needs to be caressed and cared for gently.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,645
113
Petak Island
it's 100 dollars :monkey: i'm pulling in 1k a day in OHM forks by doing nothing, what tracker fund offers that? :roflmao:

it's obvious BTC ain't hitting 100k this year, still I believe we touch near there +/- 5k in the next few months.

care to make a wager or is your muff too sore from last night? tell your wife's boyfriend to take it easy next time. daintiness like yours needs to be caressed and cared for gently.
We all realize you're a big money baller who "could be a serial killer no problem" but 100 bucks is 100 bucks.

You're moving goalposts now.

Yawn.
 
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LifeOnMars

Michael Peterson status
Jan 14, 2020
3,164
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We all realize you're a big money baller who "could be a serial killer no problem" but 100 bucks is 100 bucks.

You're moving goalposts now.

Yawn.
if you're too poosay to take the bet so be it, calling at or around 100k before the cycle is over. the crypto market is heavily manipulated which your smooth brain doesn't seem to understand. what happened a few weeks ago is the same thing that occurred around the May-Aug timeframe. look at BTC rainbow chart for reference, but hey if you don't have the cajones to buy now you can be the exit liquidity at the top when you finally decide to pull the trigger :monkey: