Good blog post. Gambling in the long run is always a losing proposition because of the vigorish. With every hand or roll of the dice the players have a negative expected return as the odds are slightly in the house's favour.
With the broader stock market, however, the odds are now in the investor's favour. The stock market has a long-run annual return of about 8% when adjusted for inflation. Brokers still take their transaction fees but the expected return for someone invested in the broader market is still positive.
I disagree with the argument that for an investor to make money someone else is losing money. As the famous saying goes....a rising tide lifts all boats. The market goes up and all long investors make money.
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