"The Wolf of Wall Street" Prototype: The S&P 500 Index is still the ticket to wealth

Author Jordan Belfort, the author of the new book "The Wolf of Investing," has made some sharp comments about Wall Street.

First, he describes it as "a huge blood-sucking monster... Wall Street's fee machine complexly dominates the entire global financial system - extracting excessive fees and commissions and creating widespread financial chaos."

He adds that ordinary investors have been losing money because they are attracted to the latest stock information they hear from friends or see on TikTok. In addition, he also states, "Depending on who gives you advice, a significant portion of your annual returns is likely to be eroded by unnecessary fees, commissions, and high annual performance bonuses."

According to the Zhongtong Finance APP, Belfort is the prototype of the Oscar-winning film "The Wolf of Wall Street" in 2013. Belfort was a stockbroker who made a fortune by selling low-priced stocks. Belfort was sentenced to 22 months in prison in the 1980s and 1990s for involvement in securities fraud.

Recently, Belfort gave investment advice in an interview, such as sticking to investing in S&P 500 index funds. The index fund has risen 7.75% year-to-date and has averaged an annual increase of about 10.7% since its launch in 1957.

Stick to Investing in S&P 500

Belfort said in the interview that historically, it is extremely difficult to pick individual stocks or bonds and try to outperform the market. It is hard for people to understand that even a small amount of money can turn into a large sum over time through long-term compounding, reinvesting dividends, and investing small amounts in a portfolio.

Belfort is a loyal fan of the S&P 500 index. He said, "The S&P 500 index is the perfect mousetrap to capture the value of the U.S. and global economy because a large portion of these companies conduct 34% of their business overseas. You can create wealth globally with the best managers."

He said, "Vanguard created this magical tool that allows ordinary people anywhere in the world to benefit the most from the value created by Wall Street without being tempted by the disastrous allure of short-term trading the next shiny object. In fact, humans, including myself, are inherently bad at stock picking. The way to prevent making mistakes and selling in panic is through indexing."

Belfort said, "Historically, the S&P 500 index has been a great investment. It has been making money for over 20 years with an annual return of 10.5%, fluctuating within a percentage point. As you age, you want to start shifting more towards index bond funds in your investment portfolio because you want to reduce risk exposure."

How to Save for Retirement?

For those saving for retirement, Belfort advises, "In general, if I were in my 30s or 40s, I would invest 80% of my money in the S&P 500 index and perhaps 20% in the entire bond market index.As you age, you may reduce this ratio to 70/30 and eventually to 60/40."

He said, "Of course, there are other things to consider, such as your general risk tolerance. But I really like index funds because they eliminate speculation. They protect you from your worst impulses, which are short-term trading and trying to pick winning stocks. It's really hard to do."

Belfort emphasized the importance of regularly buying funds, "without even considering the cost. Ignore whether the market is rising, falling, or stagnant."

Investment Traps

Regarding investment traps, Belfort said, "People think that if they only have a small amount of money to invest, they will never become wealthy. They say, I need to buy a low-priced stock so that I have a chance to increase it by a thousand percent and make a big profit. That's the trap. They try to time the purchase of growth stocks. They say, I want to buy the next Apple because that's the only way I can get rich. They say, buying the S&P 500 index won't make me wealthy. The answer is, this problem can indeed be solved through long-term compounding."

Wall Street Scams

Finally, Belfort launched an attack on Wall Street. He said, "The Wall Street fee machine scam is there, and once you realize what these advertisements and promotions are all about, it becomes obvious that they basically lead people to make decisions that go against their best interests."

He said, "It's a crazy circus that convinces people to stay in this game, this casino, which is very detrimental to investors."

"By the way, what do you think will happen if any novel idea from Wall Street emerges? It becomes part of the S&P 500 index, and you make money."