Why stocks, bitcoin, and crypto will NEVER be Fastlane.

[Spenny]

I invested in stocks for a while and thought the same way: "Ah, but stocks will bring me to the Fastlane" - nope. Never was, never will be & never should be.

I only invested in stocks because they should have an intrinsic value - crypto has no use except for the black market. But my experience of stocks vs business? I've found making a business to be so much more straightforward.

Perhaps if you're in microcap, you'd make a sizable return, but the main problem I had with investing was that you'd get into wraps with SO MANY factors for a silly 10% gain on your £1000. You'd do hours of research & predictions to have a factor come out of left field or the management being plain stupid.

Great things about businesses:

• you don't have to listen to whatever the FED farts, or what XYZ analyst is babbling about or the hundreds of sell-side analyst sheep. You don't go around in loops of "What's my diversification split?" or "Mmm, should I sell or buy because it's XYZ price??"
• Value creation is easier. You can implement new products/features/marketing/value skews and immediately generate value. A stock certificate sits there and looks pretty.
• Most importantly, you can provide FAR MORE VALUE & hence the return is greater. 20% is an AMAZING return in the stock market. That's great if you have +£1mil to play around with, but if you're starting, a £100 gain doesn't move the needle for Fastlane. Multibaggers are rare in stocks and are only maybe 2x/3x. A good business can easily do that.

The other gripe I have in stock investments is that they are riddled with schemes to fleece you. Crypto is far worse.

• Sell-side analysts are biased to put a buy rating on stocks because they benefit from your transactions.
• YouTubers sell their private investing community with no track record of actual returns.
• There are all sorts of crappy investing courses.
• There are a lot of CEOs who will serve up cool aid for you to drink & fleece you of your capital.

So not only do you have to sift through if a stock is good, but you have to search if the information you're receiving is good.

The only form of investing that makes sense to me is dividends with a lump sum.

• Pick a boring company (can manufacturers, soap detergents, real estate) - make sure an idiot can run it because, at some point, it likely will be one.
• Get a 5% dividend yield alongside some stock appreciation, and then have those companies pay you a salary from your lump sum.
• These companies are so dull that they will likely be pretty constant. Therefore, they don't have any stress about what happens. Your principle is more protected, and you can skim a dividend if you wish.

By the way, crypto does none of this. The only thing you can rely on is technical analysis, which is a star sign for investing.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Post extracted to new thread...

To clarify:

1. Your business generates massive wealth— not bitcoin or stocks.
2. Stocks, crypto and bitcoin are mere investments, some more speculative than others, that can help grow your idle cash while you build massive wealth in your business.

Please note: This post is not saying, "Don't invest in stocks or crpyto" but to focus on the RIGHT THINGS.

The Pareto Principle applies...

80% of my wealth came from my business ventures.
20% came from my passive investments.

Do both; but focus on the 80% that really moves the needle.

You likely will find the same as true if you truly adopt a Fastlane philosophy.

 

[Spenny]

To add more context, I spent four years doing investing. I did the 'S&P 500 investing until you're dead' thing when I was eighteen, and GME blew up, I then moved to mutual funds. I did individual stock investing, microcap investing, and even technical analysis trading between nineteen and twenty-one. I poured hours of research into my craft. I was the head trader at my university trading society and regularly did talks, teaching people what I knew about value investing. Even as a first-year university student, I'd spend all of my time investing & I still got shafted by things I didn't see. My head would spin & go into analysis paralysis to craft the perfect portfolio.

The final deduction of my pain?

Directly providing value to customers, a business, was the only thing that made sense.

It took me four years to realise that. Four years of money chasing and no focus on the customers. Me, me, me, being impatient for when my money would 3x, never thinking about how it improves people's lives.

Another thing that always bothered me about any investment was the lack of Control. It's practically zero. The management can do whatever they like. You don't steer the ship if you haven't got a significant stake in the business. The only way to protest is to sell, which doesn't make any difference. Even if you stick around, you've had your money locked away for an upturn/downturn, plus the emotional roller coaster.

The most profitable thing I've seen in stocks is selling memberships to private investment communities or courses. Remember, these 'gurus' have no track record & I have seen them delete videos and entire channels where they are wrong on investments. You cannot trust anyone you listen to. I did, and I have paid the price of nearly all of my savings.

The other businesses are being a fund manager, where people pay you a percentage for owning your fund, or being a sell-side broker, where you take a commission for transactions... and both are what? Businesses where they provide value. We are back to square one.

The only exception I will make in investing is that I have seen one community that is amazing because they do funding rounds for businesses with sub $5mil market caps where the money makes a big difference. The shareholders buy in for ownership; the company gets capital raised for new equipment; both are win/win. At this point, I wouldn't even call it normal investing. This is what is known as activist investing.

You go in, add value with your knowledge, and provide value to the customers, and then you hopefully get a reward.

The catch?

• You need a capital minimum to participate.
• You must do deep due diligence (meeting the CEO, financial records, meeting after meetings, talking to customers - scuttlebutt).
• Only a few companies that require you to have deep knowledge of the industry are appropriate to participate in.

It's very different on pressing 'buy' in your brokerage & activist investing is much closer to a Fastlane mentality, plus it is not a quick process. It takes months and, most likely, years. This world of investing seems completely disconnected from the financial markets. We are talking near to no volume; nobody knows the company, and there are no articles. Just you, financial statements, interviews with the CEO and good old product reviews. It's very intertwined with understanding business, not technical patterns or speculation.

I look forward to the day I can participate in this.


Overall, I attribute buying stocks similarly to purchasing a franchise. Both are businesses in a box; you leverage existing networks that you haven't built & you are likely not going to make an outsized return. Well deserved.

Do they give you skills? Yes. I understand accounting well & I know business models well. But it is not a primary wealth generator. Control is entirely in the gutter. Go for the jugular with making a business that fits CENTS.

For the beginners, I ask you this. Why invest when there are hundreds of thousands of profitable ideas out there? Stop being lazy, looking for a money-chasing fix and providing serious value for customers.

Edit: Clarification & addition to post.

 

[EmotionEngine]

I've been reading a book on crypto and its scams called "Number Go Up" by Zeke Faux. It reads like the entertaining tales of a private investigator. The author (a journalist) interviewed SBF, Mashinsky, and even the poor Filipinos who went broke with Axie Infinity. I highly recommend it. The audio version is fantastic with a great narrator and it's written in a down to earth style.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593443810/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Spenny]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on stocks, bitcoin, and crypto. It's true that investing in stocks can be complex, with so many factors at play. Business ownership can offer more control and potentially higher returns, especially when you're able to directly influence value creation.

@Andy Black @Fox

 

[Oso]

As someone that's absolutely sick of noobs coming here asking the same retarded question of "HURR, WITCH STOK I CAN SPIND 3$ NOW N BE WORTH 160022523 BILLUN 2MAROW!?" I fully support your message.

But also...

crypto has no use except for the black market.

to make such a statement as if it's a fact is rather misleading, misplaced, and tbh, outright ignorant. Crypto does have a lot of valid/legitimate uses outside of "I want to buy a nuke/wife/AR15/kilo of heroin off of the dark web."

Unfortunately for crypto, it was placed in the same category as NFTs, and since the vast majority of the global population refuses to do any research for themselves, it goes completely over their head(s). And... we know how people respond to things they don't understand...

"It's a scam" or "it's a scam." The irony is they still fall for the Nigerian prince scam every 10 seconds, but that's a different story. Anyway, 10/10 message regardless.

Cheers.

 

[msissoko]

I invested in stocks for a while and thought the same way: "Ah, but stocks will bring me to the Fastlane" - nope. Never was, never will be & never should be.

I only invested in stocks because they should have an intrinsic value - crypto has no use except for the black market. But my experience of stocks vs business? I've found making a business to be so much more straightforward.

Perhaps if you're in microcap, you'd make a sizable return, but the main problem I had with investing was that you'd get into wraps with SO MANY factors for a silly 10% gain on your £1000. You'd do hours of research & predictions to have a factor come out of left field or the management being plain stupid.

Great things about businesses:

• you don't have to listen to whatever the FED farts, or what XYZ analyst is babbling about or the hundreds of sell-side analyst sheep. You don't go around in loops of "What's my diversification split?" or "Mmm, should I sell or buy because it's XYZ price??"
• Value creation is easier. You can implement new products/features/marketing/value skews and immediately generate value. A stock certificate sits there and looks pretty.
• Most importantly, you can provide FAR MORE VALUE & hence the return is greater. 20% is an AMAZING return in the stock market. That's great if you have +£1mil to play around with, but if you're starting, a £100 gain doesn't move the needle for Fastlane. Multibaggers are rare in stocks and are only maybe 2x/3x. A good business can easily do that.

The other gripe I have in stock investments is that they are riddled with schemes to fleece you. Crypto is far worse.

• Sell-side analysts are biased to put a buy rating on stocks because they benefit from your transactions.
• YouTubers sell their private investing community with no track record of actual returns.
• There are all sorts of crappy investing courses.
• There are a lot of CEOs who will serve up cool aid for you to drink & fleece you of your capital.

So not only do you have to sift through if a stock is good, but you have to search if the information you're receiving is good.

The only form of investing that makes sense to me is dividends with a lump sum.

• Pick a boring company (can manufacturers, soap detergents, real estate) - make sure an idiot can run it because, at some point, it likely will be one.
• Get a 5% dividend yield alongside some stock appreciation, and then have those companies pay you a salary from your lump sum.
• These companies are so dull that they will likely be pretty constant. Therefore, they don't have any stress about what happens. Your principle is more protected, and you can skim a dividend if you wish.

By the way, crypto does none of this. The only thing you can rely on is technical analysis, which is a star sign for investing.

Like

I invested in stocks for a while and thought the same way: "Ah, but stocks will bring me to the Fastlane" - nope. Never was, never will be & never should be.

I only invested in stocks because they should have an intrinsic value - crypto has no use except for the black market. But my experience of stocks vs business? I've found making a business to be so much more straightforward.

Perhaps if you're in microcap, you'd make a sizable return, but the main problem I had with investing was that you'd get into wraps with SO MANY factors for a silly 10% gain on your £1000. You'd do hours of research & predictions to have a factor come out of left field or the management being plain stupid.

Great things about businesses:

• you don't have to listen to whatever the FED farts, or what XYZ analyst is babbling about or the hundreds of sell-side analyst sheep. You don't go around in loops of "What's my diversification split?" or "Mmm, should I sell or buy because it's XYZ price??"
• Value creation is easier. You can implement new products/features/marketing/value skews and immediately generate value. A stock certificate sits there and looks pretty.
• Most importantly, you can provide FAR MORE VALUE & hence the return is greater. 20% is an AMAZING return in the stock market. That's great if you have +£1mil to play around with, but if you're starting, a £100 gain doesn't move the needle for Fastlane. Multibaggers are rare in stocks and are only maybe 2x/3x. A good business can easily do that.

The other gripe I have in stock investments is that they are riddled with schemes to fleece you. Crypto is far worse.

• Sell-side analysts are biased to put a buy rating on stocks because they benefit from your transactions.
• YouTubers sell their private investing community with no track record of actual returns.
• There are all sorts of crappy investing courses.
• There are a lot of CEOs who will serve up cool aid for you to drink & fleece you of your capital.

So not only do you have to sift through if a stock is good, but you have to search if the information you're receiving is good.

The only form of investing that makes sense to me is dividends with a lump sum.

• Pick a boring company (can manufacturers, soap detergents, real estate) - make sure an idiot can run it because, at some point, it likely will be one.
• Get a 5% dividend yield alongside some stock appreciation, and then have those companies pay you a salary from your lump sum.
• These companies are so dull that they will likely be pretty constant. Therefore, they don't have any stress about what happens. Your principle is more protected, and you can skim a dividend if you wish.

By the way, crypto does none of this. The only thing you can rely on is technical analysis, which is a star sign for investing.

like

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Spenny]

To make such a statement as if it's a fact is somewhat misleading, misplaced, and, to be honest, outright ignorant.

Crypto has no use except for the black market.

I don't write about the exceptions because that's boring to read. Call me ignorant, but I don't think you can include all the nuances and not bore people, at least in the first post.

But now we have a floor to talk about it, we can do so.

I do know that crypto has a use outside of illegality, but I've never seen much good out of it.

Yield harvesting? It seems too good to be true.
Private transactions? Hmmm maybe. But it's too volatile to be a sound currency.
Digital gold? Maybe, but volatility is still panning out, and there is no track record of countering fiat currency inflation.

Most cases I've seen with crypto from friends & people online have been speculation. "Price goes up and to the right".

I could say the nuance, but I'm trying to get a point into people's heads: people get into this for the wrong reasons. We agree on that.

Investing in a coin with many developers working on top of it seems like an alright bet IF you have surplus capital.

Investing because prices go up? You're stupid unless you're looking to do gambling.

 

[Kevin88660]

I don't write about the exceptions because that's boring to read. Call me ignorant, but I don't think you can include all the nuances and not bore people, at least in the first post.

But now we have a floor to talk about it, we can do so.

I do know that crypto has a use outside of illegality, but I've never seen much good out of it.

Yield harvesting? It seems too good to be true.
Private transactions? Hmmm maybe. But it's too volatile to be a sound currency.
Digital gold? Maybe, but volatility is still panning out, and there is no track record of countering fiat currency inflation.

Most cases I've seen with crypto from friends & people online have been speculation. "Price goes up and to the right".

I could say the nuance, but I'm trying to get a point into people's heads: people get into this for the wrong reasons. We agree on that.

Investing in a coin with many developers working on top of it seems like an alright bet IF you have surplus capital.

Investing because prices go up? You're stupid unless you're looking to do gambling.

Crypto is simply a payment accounting system invented that is sealed off from arbitrary changes using open source cryptography.

The use cases developed are borderless transaction and decentralized exchanges.

But because of the decentralized nature, any real progress in technological development is going to be slow.

Elon musk can fire and hire X, but he cannot do any changes to dogecoin to solve the over concentration issue (tokens being held by a few big accounts).

I think next move in crypto is probably fiat currency running on blockchains (CBDC).