Re: Robert Peston
"Every penny they "make" is actually money they have skimmed off our pensions, savings and whatever our industry generates."
Yes, and every penny farmers make is skimmed off the bread and milk on your table, and every penny a teacher makes is money skimmed off the education of your children. Where did you think it was coming from? I don't invest in hedge funds or "star fund managers" so I couldn't care less how many lose money. I invest mainly in cheap tracker funds. And the money is to be left there for years or decades so whether some coked-up barrow boys cause the index to dive for a few minutes before immediately going back up again is also of no interest to me.
In the long run this will do me better than stuffing my money under the mattress. Investing would not be possible without financial markets; without financial markets I would have the choice of either stuffing it under a mattress, perhaps putting it all in a mate's business (which could go tits-up and ruin me), or going down the dogs.
The assertion that we lose 10%+ in transaction costs every year is nonsense. Whatever funds you are invested in must by law declare the total of all their costs, including all trading costs, in their disclosure documents under "Total Expense Ratio" or "Ongoing Charges". If it's more than 2%pa you have chosen a very expensive fund.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
