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The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
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Author: Baybrooke   😊 😞
Number: of 21944 
Subject: Re: OT mostly: forevers
Date: 02/22/26 7:50 PM
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No. of Recommendations: 25
You're going to die tomorrow (sorry!) and your spouse knows nothing about investing.

It has been predetermined (for whatever reason) that (b) no index trackers are allowed
....
But an index fits the bill perfectly for the problem as stated.

But I find them immoral. If there is any company you would not invest in because you find either management or the business line odious, any at all, you can't be an index investor. Indeed, it is your responsibility not to be. Plus, it may not be critical in this context, but it just plain annoys me that by construction they have two huge flaws that mean you'll forever underperform a dartboard.


Below are my general thoughts on this subject, triggered by the post but not directed at the poster.

Dictating from the grave that your spouse should not invest in an index is more immoral. You have no right to make your spouse's financial life more difficult than it needs to be. If you want to fight immorality, do it when you are alive and in a way that is effective and actually makes a difference. Don't impose a symbolic gesture on your spouse with zero real world impact.

So what if an index underperforms a dartboard? The objective is for the spouse to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Everyone one this board is wealthy enough to achieve this for their spouse using index based investing. This is not a game that the spouse needs to win.

Last but not least, any non-index based plan is destined to fail anyway, because sooner or later someone will come along and convince your spouse to tinker with the portfolio. Unless it's based on personal knowledge and long experience, it's easy to get shaken out of individual equities when prices fall. This will eventually happen and your spouse will end up underperforming the index.
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This community has written 21,448 posts about Berkshire Hathaway. The article-length ones it recommended most:
BRK: Why Not XOM? · 62 recs · 2024
Second quarter comments · 60 recs · 2023
Berkshire's Profit Contributors · 57 recs · 2023
Summary of 2Q 2026 · 54 recs · 2026
3Q Summary · 53 recs · 2024
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