So one of your ancestors invested $1 in the market in year 1800...

Gweedz wrote: ↑ I hear about this scenario quite a few times, and I understand the reasoning behind it is to illustrate how the markers have grown, but just for fun let's explore this statement literally.

Is this even possible? Logistically how would someone even invest $1 in "the market" in 1800? There were no index funds, so would they have to buy a portion of every single company on the market at that time? And if they did that, how many of those companies are still in existence today? I think GE was one of the original companies, but what would be the value of the investment if 99.9% of the companies went under years ago?

Second, let's say an index fund DID exist back then, and you have the paperwork to prove your ancestor invested in it. Who is obliged to "pay out" - the firm that issued the index (such as Vanguard)? If they don't exist then once again you're SOL?

More seriously - I'd like to invest a lump sum for my kids that will not be touched for 50 years. I want to completely forget about it for the entire time, but guarantee it will still be there (barring any catastrophic changes to the market). Kind of like giving them an envelope with a "do not open until year 2067" on it, with a certificate inside they can easily cash out. So no Vanguard or TD funds as I'm not confident Vanguard or TD will still be around in 50 years.

Does anything like this exist? Maybe a Canada savings bond?

Gweedz wrote: ↑ I hear about this scenario quite a few times, and I understand the reasoning behind it is to illustrate how the markers have grown, but just for fun let's explore this statement literally.

Is this even possible? Logistically how would someone even invest $1 in "the market" in 1800? There were no index funds, so would they have to buy a portion of every single company on the market at that time? And if they did that, how many of those companies are still in existence today? I think GE was one of the original companies, but what would be the value of the investment if 99.9% of the companies went under years ago?

Second, let's say an index fund DID exist back then, and you have the paperwork to prove your ancestor invested in it. Who is obliged to "pay out" - the firm that issued the index (such as Vanguard)? If they don't exist then once again you're SOL?

More seriously - I'd like to invest a lump sum for my kids that will not be touched for 50 years. I want to completely forget about it for the entire time, but guarantee it will still be there (barring any catastrophic changes to the market). Kind of like giving them an envelope with a "do not open until year 2067" on it, with a certificate inside they can easily cash out. So no Vanguard or TD funds as I'm not confident Vanguard or TD will still be around in 50 years.

Does anything like this exist? Maybe a Canada savings bond?

eldeejay wrote: ↑ I buy my son a maple leaf on each birthday. Or I just move one from my stack to his...

I would be near retirement now if I'd invested my paper route money in RY or TD instead of packs of Opeechee or Upper Deck. Speaking of, where do you sell early 90's hockey cards?

Mike15 wrote: ↑ Vanguard or TD not existing in 50 years wouldn't mean your investment in their funds would disappear. ETF or MF units give you a claim to your share of the net asset value of the fund, a fund which owns underlying assets. Similarly, if you owned individual shares and Questrade was your brokerage, Questrade going out of business wouldn't invalidate your share ownership.

jfall wrote: ↑ buy physical gold?

Gweedz wrote: ↑ No one mentioned anything about my bond suggestion. Is it not a valid option? I would think that a country has less chance of going under than any stock or fund.

eldeejay wrote: ↑ I would be near retirement now if I'd invested my paper route money in RY or TD instead of packs of Opeechee or Upper Deck. Speaking of, where do you sell early 90's hockey cards?

Gweedz wrote: ↑ I'd like to invest a lump sum for my kids that will not be touched for 50 years. I want to completely forget about it for the entire time, but guarantee it will still be there (barring any catastrophic changes to the market). Kind of like giving them an envelope with a "do not open until year 2067" on it, with a certificate inside they can easily cash out. So no Vanguard or TD funds as I'm not confident Vanguard or TD will still be around in 50 years.

Does anything like this exist? Maybe a Canada savings bond?

ace604 wrote: ↑ You can't completely forget about it.

You have to pay taxes on it unless it's in a TFSA or RRSP.

You want dividends to get reinvested as well.

If the lump sums are small enough to fit in your available TFSA room and you utilize DRIP then you can mostly forget about it.

A Canada Savings Bond that doesn't even beat inflation would be a horrible choice. The lump sum that was "large" now would be "small" later and your kids would think "aww, that's cute dad socked away $X way back when thinking it was a lot of money" LOL.

Say you put away enough now to buy a car for each of them. In 50 years in a CSB they may not have enough combined to buy one car.

Pick a low cost ETF like Vanguard. Reinvest dividends. Don't "completely" forget about it. If the company / funds change, you can change to match.

Pretty sure the S&P 500 will still be a thing in 50 years and people will still want to invest in it.

jfall wrote: ↑ And in 50 years it's looking likely that people won't even own their own cars You'll just summon a driveless car with your phone and have it pick you up and drop you off, no insurance, no maintenance etc.

Gweedz wrote: ↑ I think I understand your Questrade example because it is an individual share of a company, but if I buy a Vanguard ETF and Vanguard goes under, what would happen to the ETF? Does it automatically get cashed out? I don't think I can just hold on to it for another 10 years, and then transfer it (in cash) to some other broker.

I'm not actually worried about these places going under, I'm just trying to see what investment type would have the best chance of surviving 50 years, let alone 200+ years.

No one mentioned anything about my bond suggestion. Is it not a valid option? I would think that a country has less chance of going under than any stock or fund.