Imagine you spent 40 years doing the boring, responsible thing.
You opened a 401k at 23. You contributed every paycheck. You ignored the noise. You bought the index because Bogle told you to, because Buffett told you to, because every honest piece of financial advice for 30 years told you the index was the safest, most diversified, most rules-based way to own America.
The whole point was the rules.
The rules said: a company must trade for 12 months before joining the S&P 500. The rules said: it must show four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. The rules existed because in 1999 the index quietly bought a lot of stocks at the top, and pensioners paid the bill.
After the dot-com crash, S&P tightened the rules. Nasdaq tightened the rules. FTSE Russell tightened the rules.
For 23 years, those rules held.
Then SpaceX filed for IPO.
And the rules changed.
The S&P 500 waived the profitability requirement. Nasdaq cut its trading-history window from 90 days to 15. FTSE Russell cut its to 5.
Bloomberg Intelligence estimates the major index funds will absorb between 19% and 24% of SpaceX's float within six months. That's over $30 trillion of passive 401k and retirement money, mechanically buying a single newly public company at IPO valuations, because the rules said they had to.
Except the rules used to say they didn't.
Here's the thought exercise:
If you spend 40 years building a system designed to protect ordinary savers from buying overpriced stocks, and then you waive the protections the moment a sufficiently large stock asks you to, what was the system actually protecting?
Most of investing is about understanding what's a rule and what's a guideline.
A rule binds the rule-maker.
A guideline binds the saver.
You're allowed to find out which is which only after the fact.
@DaireCarragher With the Bears moving stadiums, I think you gotta prioritize seeing the Packers at Soldier field. It’s not the nicest stadium, but it’s still a great experience at a historic stadium.
NEW: 62-year-old Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead in his truck after he didn't show up for a legal interview linked to a case against Boeing.
Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years and retired in 2017. After retiring, Barnett spoke out about how Boeing was cutting corners on their airplanes.
Just days before his death, Barnett gave evidence in a lawsuit against Boeing.
Barnett accused Boeing of "deliberately fitting sub-standard parts" on their aircraft.
He also accused Boeing of having faulty oxygen systems, saying one in four breathing masks would *not* work in an emergency situation.
Barnett said new plane builds were rushed. When he brought his concerns forward, they were allegedly ignored by the company.
When he died, Barnett was in Charleston for interviews linked to a case against Boeing.
He was supposed to come back for more questioning on Saturday but did not show up. Inquiries were made to his hotel where Barnett was found dead in his car in the parking lot.
Police are investigating Barnett's death but say he died from a "self-inflicted" wound.
The video below was a recent interview Barnett had with TMZ.
Totally normal.
The Dolphins: it’s gonna be too cold for the chiefs to have any type of home field advantage
Some dude named Trent from independence who can drink 47 beers in an afternoon going to his first game in seven years:
Throwback to the last time the Packers & Cowboys met in the playoffs, featuring an all-time catch by Jared Cook 🤯
Don't miss Packers-Cowboys, Wild Card edition, this Sunday at 4:30 PM ET on FOX