The infamous “E*Trade baby” debuted during the January 2008 Super Bowl.

At the time, the S&P 500 was an un-alarming 10% off its peak… but it was about to slide another 42% lower over the following 13 months.

E*Trade’s message was bold: Making money in stocks is so easy, even a baby could do it.

It was marketing genius – but, obviously, terrible investment advice.

Now, almost a decade later, E*Trade’s got a new “kid” in town.

I saw the discount broker’s latest ad on the flight home from our quarterly meeting in Baltimore. I didn’t even realize it was an E*Trade ad until the end. I was listening to music and scanning stock charts when the seatback screen in front of me caught my eye.

This young, geeky-looking kid was running around the deck of a mega-yacht like he owned it… dancing up a storm through a flock of bikini-clad beauties and, eventually, jumping off the side of the ship with wild abandon.

It looked like he was having the time of his life!

Finally, the punchline text appeared: “The dumbest guy in high school just got a boat.”

And then the close: “Don’t get mad. Get E*Trade.”

You’ve likely heard that the prevailing sentiment at the tail end of bull markets is greed.

I think it’s worse than that…

I think it’s more like envy.

When the masses get greedy, you’re close to the top.

But when the previously conservative and “prudent” investors become envious of all the foolish pigs making money… that’s when you’re really close to the top!

That’s what happened to Sir Isaac Newton in the South Sea bubble. He made money in the bull market but sold “early” out of prudence.

Then he watched a bunch of his less-educated peers make even more money after he had sold. He got envious… he got back in… and then he got crushed when it all came crashing down.