All of these crashes and the rollercoaster nature of the stockmarket make me wonder why the stock market is used an the preferred retirement investment vehicle of Americans.Sure it is a somewhat passive way to invest money..but the returns (for MOST people) aren't great, and there is so much volatility.

Here are lessons from America's richest family:Lessons From America's Richest FamilyNotice the stark contrast between people running for the hills and those embracing the volatility of the market.

So prices will continue to go down until the volatility is decreased.

Sure, the Stock market grows at 10% a year, but more than likely, you could catch a bad year because of volatility and it will take long for you to recover.

Paradoxically, the VAR models, based on history of moves and standard deviations, will now tend to overstate the risk associated with positions while volatility reverts back to its mean, but I would still raise the capital ratios and re-instate Glass.

For example, with the volatile stock market many people are now discovering that they can use their 401ks/IRAs for land investment purposes.

I agree with your conclusion: not a good investment.Consider also the price volatility discussed in this post.

Capital accounts, stock options, etc. are either volatile or difficult to value in a privately-held entity.

Even if I was worth $100M I would want to keep a small portion of my wealth liquid in non-volatile investments while I played with the other $99M or so.

It is possible you can find product that isn't volatile and is recast on a good note, but it seems like a lot of work when 30-year debt is such a good choice.Check out The Mortgage Professor's site:The Mortgage Professorfor a ton more information on loan products and articles on choosing the right product.