posted
I've been in all cash all year so I'm actually up about 4%.
With the S&P losing eight percent in a day, and 35% on the year, I imagine some of your retirement accounts are hurting.
My strategy in this environment -- if your horizon is longer than 5 years, don't sell. Ride it out or you'll end up missing the eventual upturn.
Posts: 460 | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
I'm waiting for my next IRA statement to come in anyday now. My savings in it had more than doubled since I rolled over cash from a 401K from a previous job a little over 10 years ago. I have investments for my daughter as well that are losing money now. Perhaps stuffing that old mattress in the garage would be the thing to do for a little while now.
quote:Originally posted by High_Arch_Analyst: I've been in all cash all year so I'm actually up about 4%.
With the S&P losing eight percent in a day, and 35% on the year, I imagine some of your retirement accounts are hurting.
My strategy in this environment -- if your horizon is longer than 5 years, don't sell. Ride it out or you'll end up missing the eventual upturn.
You are correct, and that is certain. Aside from my 401K I've been doing simple (and safe) things such as mutual funds, jumbo CDs, etc. for ages. Those type of investments have weathered every storm, they always will.
The 401K has been down a few times over the years, but (as you say), the upturn is always on the horizon ... I look at the difference between ten years ago and now and it's been great.
Basically, I've refused to participate in any of the "recessions" and "failing markets". I've just refused to participate in them and through the simple powers of accumulation, my simple money market accounts, mutual funds, etc. are able to generate enough residual to where I can call them Income. Income as well as investment.
People call it a roller coaster, and I've never viewed it that way. I see the "ups and downs" as a Yo-Yo ... but I'm doing that Yo-Yo, as I walk UP a giant set of stairs. No matter how many times it goes up and down - in the long run it is always up ... and if you look back over the history of it all, it goes WAY up.
I view housing and property investments the same way, and it's always proven true. There are times when I've seen the value of a house or property of mine go down - on TV, they're talking about the "Housing CRISIS of 96" or the "Real Estate COLLAPSE of the decade", etc., etc. But then I realize (two years later) that the value of the property has tripled over a twelve-year period. Five years after that it's even higher and I'm saying "Thank HEAVENS I didn't listen to them and Thank Heavens I didn't participate in their crisis".
Your advice is good. I hope your clients / investors appreciate it.
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I've been in mutual funds only for more than a decade. At the end of the Clinton administration, I lost over 60%, putting me back to roughly my original investment. Over the last eight years, it was slowly beginning to come back. With this most recent correction, I fear that I am now well beneath my original investment; haven't had the heart to open the latest statement.
Twenty years ago, I expected to retire, modestly, in thirty years. As I sit here now, I believe that there is a small (diminishing) hope that I might be able to retire, in penury, in twenty five years.
"Wal-Mart Greeter", here I come.
Posts: 5067 | Registered: Apr 2005
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There may be a line of applicants fighting you for that job one day. I'd hate to think of myself at age 70 retiring, but having to go work at McDonalds and have some punk ass pizza faced kid taping "kick me" signs on my back...
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I've seen my 401(k) dropping on a consistent basis as well as my brokerage account where I have a mix of stocks and mutual funds. I switched my future contributions on my 401(k) to put 20% into safer less volatile vehicles but continue to buy into the ones that are down now with the idea that when the market comes back - I'll recoup my "unrealized" losses much quicker.
The thing people tend to forget is that it is not a true "loss" until you actually sell and take the money out. If you have the time to wait out the market - you may see that there is no loss as all. But if you've already sold and pulled out to put what was "left" somewhere "safer" - you now have a "realized" loss with little hope of getting it back.
Those closer to retirement or who are perhaps already retired... those are the ones I feel most bad for.
Anyone who is still young should think about being a little more aggressive -- you can buy low now and invest a little with the good chance that it will pay off (history will repeat itself) The problem is -- timing!
Anyway - that's my POV on the subject. My fingers are crossed and I'm hoping for the best with my investments!
-------------------- "People will always be tempted to wipe their feet on anything with 'welcome' written on it." Andy Partridge (now here is an idea!) Posts: 2959 | Registered: Feb 2008
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