Are the golden years of wall street and the stock market over?

[HeSaidSheSaid]

I don't know why but I feel like the golden years of wall street and it's extravagant lifestyle are over. I mainly refer to 1980-2000.

probably, due to the impact of the Volcker's rule.

" after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, the Volcker Rule disallows short-term proprietary trading of securities, derivatives, commodity futures and options on these instruments for banks’ own accounts under the premise that these activities do not benefit banks’ customers. In other words, banks cannot use their own funds to make these types of investments to increase their profits".
I'd let banks and insurance companies get into the trading businesses or each other businesses, but I'd place a cap on how much capital they can use to participate (by percentage of market cap). this way we could control the size of bubble and the system as a whole is diversified.

Read more: Volcker Rule Definition | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/volcker-rule.asp#ixzz4139Ds5qo
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[drcha]

There will be golden years elsewhere on this globe. One just has to figure out where, and when.

 

[Zodiac4u]

To each his own, the easy money of riding the trend up to infinity probably.
But high volatility to me like 2011 and 2015 is a golden year.

There were many golden times before 2011. The thing about Golden ages, they just keep coming back$

 

[BrandNewTrader]

This poster must be trolling. The market is emerging from one of its longest periods of low vol (or longest periods of lowest vol) in decades. If the markets can stay open, accounts can avoid being MFGlobal'ed, and margins can stay relatively affordable (even with increase in vol) then we are going to see new legends and new fortunes made (and lost) over the next ten years. We are entering the age of public outbursts of incredulity and/or horror as people leapfrog whole sections of the socioeconomic pyramid and literally create brand new family dynasties OR jump off the bridge/tower because they've blown out for the last time. Shotgun fellatio, Cobaine style.

Being a trader is the best job in the world and we are about to enter a Golden Age of Trading where those who can and dare, will win big. As is usual in any pure meritocracy, the best get all the money and the pussy, the rest get to be ex-traders embellishing war stories to the uninitiated.

 

[ETcallhome]

there was a time when ordinary people were making more in their aggressive growth stock fund in ther 401k than they were at their real job.

This poster must be trolling. The market is emerging from one of its longest periods of low vol (or longest periods of lowest vol) in decades. If the markets can stay open, accounts can avoid being MFGlobal'ed, and margins can stay relatively affordable (even with increase in vol) then we are going to see new legends and new fortunes made (and lost) over the next ten years. We are entering the age of public outbursts of incredulity and/or horror as people leapfrog whole sections of the socioeconomic pyramid and literally create brand new family dynasties OR jump off the bridge/tower because they've blown out for the last time. Shotgun fellatio, Cobaine style.

Being a trader is the best job in the world and we are about to enter a Golden Age of Trading where those who can and dare, will win big. As is usual in any pure meritocracy, the best get all the money and the pussy, the rest get to be ex-traders embellishing war stories to the uninitiated.

Thank you so much for explaining to us uninitiated how trading works. I've been curious about that for many years.

 

[BrandNewTrader]

there was a time when ordinary people were making more in their aggressive growth stock fund in ther 401k than they were at their real job.

I hate to do tit for tat posting, but you've totally distorted the main takeaways of my post, as if on a troll mission. If ordinary peoples investment incomes were making more than their salary incomes it was due to a rising market, low vol environment, the kind that lifts 401k's. We are entering a different phase, where your mom, pop and momo-stock chasing mechanic are going to get wiped out (and their retirement dreams DASHED) while nimble and capable traders have more opportunities in a day than they did in a typical month during the low vol era.

Thank you so much for explaining to us uninitiated how trading works. I've been curious about that for many years.

This is just unnecessary snark based on a misunderstanding of my post. I am not explaining trading to anyone, but you certainly seem like the uninitiated.

on second thought, perhaps we have different definitions of what a wall st golden age actually is. I think we are entering one, as the money to be made from practitioners will be epic and the wheat will separate from the chaffe.

 

[ETcallhome]

I hate to do tit for tat posting, but you've totally distorted the main takeaways of my post, as if on a troll mission. If ordinary peoples investment incomes were making more than their salary incomes it was due to a rising market, low vol environment, the kind that lifts 401k's. We are entering a different phase, where your mom, pop and momo-stock chasing mechanic are going to get wiped out (and their retirement dreams DASHED) while nimble and capable traders have more opportunities in a day than they did in a typical month during the low vol era.

This is just unnecessary snark based on a misunderstanding of my post. I am not explaining trading to anyone, but you certainly seem like the uninitiated.

on second thought, perhaps we have different definitions of what a wall st golden age actually is. I think we are entering one, as the money to be made from practitioners will be epic and the wheat will separate from the chaffe.

yes well, that is why we preach asset allocation. Some of my kids have no interest in investing and just want to buy a target fund. It takes a little bit of effort to explain to them if you are under 50 years of age you have no business loaning anybody (especially the United States Government) money. There will come a time for that later. Mom and Pop have done just fine investing in the top 500 companies for many years. Trading is a different matter.

 

[tommo]

Great topic for a thread.

But it's a little bit confused some people are discussing 'is the bull market over?' To be honest if you're a trader you shouldn't really care, we are not 'buy and holders'. We are discussing trading as a profession and whether the golden days are gone.

It's something I think about a lot. Personally I am having some of the most consistent profits of my career.

But on the other hand very worried about the fact traders are seen as villians. Whether an unscrupulous fund manager or an individual trader supporting his family off a small account we are all 'scum' as far as the media are concerned after 2008 and can't see people making life any easier for us.

But I'd like to try and focus on positives. Maybe attacking a lot of the big trading firms will create more inefficiencies to exploit for us.

 

[Steadyleaps]

Golden years for the buy and hold strategy is gone for the near term perhaps, but many were reaping off the markets shorting when it hit it's peak. Takes years to climb up to a certain level but months to bring it down. Very lucrative for players who catch the trend.

 

[ETcallhome]

I think what op meant was, it seemed like making money on Wall Street was so easy when you were watching it on tv. But once you start doing it it isn't as easy as was portrayed.

There was a time back then when oridinary people were making more in their 401k or IRA than they were at their real job.

Those were golden years both for the retail trader and the broker.

It's pretty tight out there. But for an active trader, the tighter the better.