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A comment on A forecast of the fair market value of SpaceX's businesses. Parent comment

Re:A forecast of the fair market value of SpaceX's businesses by lxgr on Thursday April 02, 2026 @02:10PM (#47618047)
That sounds like a "no true scotsman" argument. Even passive investors need to pick some methodology of how to pick assets and how to relatively weigh them, and while you can make that as mathematically simple as possible, it's arguably an active decision.

Or would you say that e.g. an ETF tracking MSCI ex-US is not a passive fund?

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Re:A forecast of the fair market value of SpaceX's businesses by bitmasher9 on Thursday April 02, 2026 @02:25PM (#47618231)
I’d also argue that "passive investor" applies more to the buy and hold strategy when paired with low engagement in the account (few transactions, or scheduled transactions).

I’d consider someone that puts $50 into Coca Cola stock every paycheck a passive investor

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Re:A forecast of the fair market value of SpaceX's businesses by JumpCrisscross on Thursday April 02, 2026 @04:16PM (#47619608)
> I’d consider someone that puts $50 into Coca Cola stock every paycheck a passive investor

They’re not. Passive vs active are terms of art in investing. They refer to the degree selection effect is at play.

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Re:A forecast of the fair market value of SpaceX's businesses by JumpCrisscross on Thursday April 02, 2026 @06:58PM (#47621284)
> would you say that e.g. an ETF tracking MSCI ex-US is not a passive fund?

Assets aren’t passive or not; investing styles are. The degree to which one’s returns earn from, or are expected to earn from, selection effects determines if you’re investing passively or actively. If I say trade SPYs, I’m an active investor. If I buy and hold a custom broad-market benchmark, I’m passive. Buying MSCI ex-US without a hedge is an active investment decision. If it’s bought and held it’s more like a passive strategy over time, provided the U.S. doesn’t dramatically over or underperform the global markets.

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