In 1960, the investing landscape was forever changed by a paper on 'unmanaged investment companies' by Edward Renshaw and Paul Feldstein.

Their idea: why not simply track the market, rather than try to beat it?

A question that sparked a revolution.

Here’s what happened:

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Their paper in the Financial Analysts Journal looked at the overwhelming choice faced by investors at the time: over 250 mutual funds.

So they thought.. what about an investment fund that mirrors the market, offering a straightforward path for the average investor?

The idea faced skepticism for a while.

In a counter-article, John B. Armstrong (a pseudonym for John Bogle) argued against it, mentioning logistical nightmares and the art of investing.

By 1971, Wells Fargo, spurred by an investment from the Samsonite Luggage family, developed one of the first institutional index funds.

This marked the practical realization of Renshaw and Feldstein's vision, but on a limited, institutional level.

The journey of index funds from that paper to the popularity today wasn't a smooth one.

The idea of tracking the market rather than trying to outperform it began to take hold over decades of proving itself with real data, not just theory.

Returns Mr. Bogle, who has his ah-ha moment.

By the mid-70s, he starts Vanguard, and realized active funds often underperformed the S&P 500 by a margin closely similar to their costs to investors.

By 1976, Bogle creates the Vanguard First Index Investment Trust.

The world's first public index fund.

People mocked it, but it would redefine investing for the average Joe.

Today, the influence of index funds is undeniable.

As of January 2024, passive investing has surpassed active investing in equities.

But why stop there?

Crypto is uniquely suited to take this vision to it's final form: an index, unmanaged, ran by smart contract code and a set of rules.

This is where we got our vision for @alongsidefi.

A truly unmanaged product: no intermediaries, no fees, and a commitment to tracking the market, without the need of human intervention.

$AMKT is the final form.

A crypto market index that operates entirely onchain. 100% backed by the underlying, and passively tracking the market.

It's not just a product but Renshaw/Feldstein's philosophy in practice.

While the majority of people believe crypto is nascent and best managed actively, we have conviction the same passive vs. active outcomes will play out in this industry.

The average person will want to hold diversified products, for little, or in the case of $AMKT, no fees.

This is only the beginning for @alongsidefi.

I suggest you start paying attention. 

Learn more on amkt.com

$AMKT is not available in restricted jurisdictions. This thread is obviously not investment advice. Do your own research when considering crypto assets.

The concept was an unmanaged investment company, a precursor to what we now call index funds.

Their argument was that this approach would ensure investors never did significantly worse than the market, at lower costs.

No picking assets, just pick the market.