Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
On this day in 1971, Wells Fargo launched the world’s first stock-index fund. A mutual-fund manager sniped: “If people start believing this random-walk garbage and switch to index funds, a lot of $80,000-a-year portfolio managers and analysts will be replaced by $16,000-a-year computer clerks. It just can’t happen.”
On this day in 1869, the New York Stock Exchange was formed from the merger of the New York Stock & Exchange Board with the Open Board and the Government Board, where Treasury bonds were traded.
On this day in 1914, stock exchanges in Berlin, Rome, and Vienna were closed as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Investors panicked in New York: General Motors shares plunged 34%, and Bethlehem Steel dropped 14%, even though it made the metal that would be needed for weapons.
On this day in 1914, with war raging in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange closed and stayed shut for another four and a half months to allow the chaotic market to settle.
On this day in 1991 George Colony, head of Forrester Research, the prestigious firm that studies trends in the computer business, said in an interview: "Our belief is that Microsoft has peaked. I think Microsoft will be a big, struggling company in two years."
"On this day in 1861, federal income tax was levied for the first time. The Revenue Act of 1861 became law, assessing a tax of 3% on all personal income in excess of $800 a year to help pay for the Civil War."
Note: Congress repealed Lincoln's tax law in 1871. The federal income tax that we all know and love returned in 1913 with the ratification of the 16th Amendment.
On this day in 1979, Paul Volcker took office as chair of the Federal Reserve. His policies broke the back of 1970s inflation but spurred two recessions.
On this day in 1928, presidential candidate Herbert Hoover declared: “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.” Just over one year later, with Hoover as president, the Great Depression began.
On this day in 1920, Charles Ponzi was arrested for financial fraud in Boston after taking in more than $6 million from thousands of investors he was repaying with other investors' money. Such pyramid arrangements were forever afterward known as “Ponzi schemes.”
On this day in 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law, ensuring some retirement income for all working Americans. Payroll taxes were set at 1%, for both workers and employers, on the first $3,000 of earnings.
On this day in 1982, The New York Times wrote "Wall Street is a wreck," in a long, grim autopsy called "Dark Days on Wall Street." The nightmare was already over, and a boom was about to follow, but no one had realized it yet.
On this day in 1982, the stock market finished a week of shattering records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 10.3% in five days. Just days earlier, most investors had thought a bull market was still months, even years, away.
On this day in 1787, John Fitch launched the first successful steamboat run in U.S. waters when his 45-foot boat smoked and boomed up the Delaware River. But he never got costs under control, so Robert Fulton—whose own steamboat launch came 20 years later—is instead remembered as the father of the steamboat.
Comments
But we still have the expensive managers.
"The fundamental problem facing individual investors in 1960
was that there were too many mutual-fund companies¹: over 250 of them."
How quaint!
According to the SEC, there were 8.49K mutual funds and 3.75K ETFs available in the U.S. at the end of 2024.
The sheer number of funds available can lead to paralysis analysis!
https://www.sec.gov/data-research/data-visualizations/registered-fund-statistics/registered-funds-number-funds
¹ Mutual funds apparently were also referred to as mutual-fund companies or "investment companies."
On this day in 1869, the New York Stock Exchange was formed from the merger of the New York Stock
& Exchange Board with the Open Board and the Government Board, where Treasury bonds were traded.
On this day in 1914, stock exchanges in Berlin, Rome, and Vienna were closed
as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Investors panicked in New York:
General Motors shares plunged 34%, and Bethlehem Steel dropped 14%,
even though it made the metal that would be needed for weapons.
On this day in 1914, with war raging in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange closed
and stayed shut for another four and a half months to allow the chaotic market to settle.
On this day in 1991 George Colony, head of Forrester Research, the prestigious firm that studies
trends in the computer business, said in an interview: "Our belief is that Microsoft has peaked.
I think Microsoft will be a big, struggling company in two years."
"On this day in 1861, federal income tax was levied for the first time.
The Revenue Act of 1861 became law, assessing a tax of 3% on all personal income
in excess of $800 a year to help pay for the Civil War."
Note: Congress repealed Lincoln's tax law in 1871.
The federal income tax that we all know and love
returned in 1913 with the ratification of the 16th Amendment.
On this day in 1979, Paul Volcker took office as chair of the Federal Reserve.
His policies broke the back of 1970s inflation but spurred two recessions.
On this day in 1928, presidential candidate Herbert Hoover declared:
“We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.”
Just over one year later, with Hoover as president, the Great Depression began.
Thanks!
IMO much of this historical info is quite interesting.
On this day in 1920, Charles Ponzi was arrested for financial fraud in Boston
after taking in more than $6 million from thousands of investors he was repaying
with other investors' money. Such pyramid arrangements were forever afterward
known as “Ponzi schemes.”
On this day in 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law,
ensuring some retirement income for all working Americans.
Payroll taxes were set at 1%, for both workers and employers,
on the first $3,000 of earnings.
On this day in 1982, The New York Times wrote "Wall Street is a wreck,"
in a long, grim autopsy called "Dark Days on Wall Street."
The nightmare was already over, and a boom was about to follow, but no one had realized it yet.
On this day in 1982, the stock market finished a week of shattering records,
with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 10.3% in five days.
Just days earlier, most investors had thought a bull market was still months, even years, away.
On this day in 1787, John Fitch launched the first successful steamboat run
in U.S. waters when his 45-foot boat smoked and boomed up the Delaware River.
But he never got costs under control, so Robert Fulton—whose own steamboat launch
came 20 years later—is instead remembered as the father of the steamboat.