What are the arguments against index investing?

Arnie said:
I advise all of my young friends and family to invest the bulk of their money by dollar cost averaging into a blue chip index.
Over the long term indexes will move up. Unlike a stock, they can't go to zero. They are constantly replacing the laggards with new co's.
Very few have what it takes to invest in individual stocks and beat the market, much less match it.
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Indices can go to 0 (or somewhere close to that), especially if you think about things in real terms.
 
Put it this way
5000 ES is guaranteed at some point.
Will never go much below 1500
It is literally designed to go up over time. I was trying to tell people this at 1000 ES in the old ES journal, lol.
Even had a bet with, I think 'startraitor'? back when everyone was telling me were were 'over bought' lol
 
One of the problems which "may" result has to do with risk adjusted returns.

According to a research report I read within the past several years, which makes sense, is from a portfolio management perspective if one commingles multiple index funds and/or ETFs within their overall personal portfolio it can actually lower one's risk adjusted rate of return.

If I recall what was discussed in the research report, it was due to market-cap weightings it could make it so one "may" have more shares of a specific stock within their personal portfolio than wanted due to companies whose shares account for the largest market value having a larger weighting in the index. Remember in a market-cap weighted index fund or ETF, companies whose shares account for the largest market value would have a larger weighting in the index. (Not sure where I read the research type report since it was several years ago but think it was at the http://www.iijournals.com/toc/jpm/current, http://www.iijournals.com/toc/jii/current, or "Financial Analysts Journal" should anyone want to search for the report.) Know it was a published research report showing quantitatively from a portfolio management standpoint the impact on the risk adjusted rate of return on portfolios when an individual uses multiple types of index funds and/or ETFs all commingled within a single personal portfolio and how it "may" reduce one's risk adjusted rate of return.

Remember the goal of portfolio management from a theoretical context is to maximize the rate of return of one's overall portfolio for a given level of risk.
 
Arnie said:
Can you give me an example of a blue chip index going to zero?
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I suppose we have to agree on the definition of "blue chip" first. If a country has a main index, where only its largest, most sound-looking companies are listed, is that "blue chip"?
 
Blue chip ---> Dow Jones Industrial 30.

May not be the exact definition - but this will give you an idea of what is blue chip.
 
Not quite zero...but close....FT30 (UK share index), in the 1970's, was down 80%.....Dow in the 1930s was down 90%...nasdaq in 2000(?) down 80%, all from their record highs.
 
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