ETF have earned mainstream respect

When I look at pictures like this (by Kimberly Sibbald), at the duration of the shockwaves I feel awe. In that one image we're looking at 10,000 years of resonance at the speed of light.

While the shockwaves of Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion won’t reverberate for as long as the Medulla Nebula's, yet they will surely move through the world’s systems for some years yet, before they fade. So I think it odd to suppose inflation will revert to a docile 2% only two years hence.

Covid-19 has wrong-footed even the eminent central bankers, and no one knows what’s going to happen next. This clip from a recent edition of Private Eye epitomises the confusion:

This morning in the Financial Times I read that several immensely-experienced investors (eg Martin Gilbert, Jonathan Rubinstein and Jane Gladstone) are collaborating to create a platform for institutions such as hedge funds to bring their funds to market in ETF format. More; they intend thematic funds, not geographic. From this news I infer not only have ETF earned mainstream respect, but those with money and power see the thematic approach making very good sense.

To anyone with any kind of debt, I suggest paying that off be a high priority. Once debt-free, there seems to me no better course of action than to wait patiently (a) with plenty of cash, even though interest rates won’t match inflation, and (b) invested in a wide variety of modern themes at very low cost. I accept some people advocate property for second homes or holiday lets, but that’s an approach I prefer not to support.