You have yet to explain why my strategies wouldn't have worked, even in this downturn. This downturn has been bad for people's portfolios, but it's only been disastrous for those who (a) panicked and cashed out their assets, missing much of the recovery or (b) didn't have good risk management/asset allocation for their needs. Violating either of those is going against the common wisdom on investing, and is how people get into trouble.