Is it a Ponzi

[G3lc]

Is an investment trust that relies on its share price going up to reward its shareholders a form of Ponzi scheme?

[Midsmartin]

An investment trust is no different from any other listed company. It hopes that future profits will increase its share price.

The only sense it's a ponzi is that profits to some degree come from consuming finite natural resources and damaging our own habitat in a way that sooner or later is literally not sustainable

[bungeejumper]

I don't see it that way, because it's also capable of losing value (perhaps quickly) without crashing catastrophically. The assets are still assets, after all. And the assumption that there's always a greater fool isn't inherent in the trust's selling proposition, although I suppose it might be prevalent among some of the investors? More fool them.

BJ

[pje16]

A ponzi scheme typically take money from new investors (who are not entitled to payouts at first) to pay out to existing customers
so no it isn't

[DavidM13]

A ponzi scheme is likely to get uncovered after 153 years of track record.

[UncleEbenezer]

A ponzi scheme is likely to get uncovered after 153 years of track record.

Are you sure? Building societies have been around longer than that, and still today credit expands - though it's long past the point where it was working without heavy government support for ever-rising prices.