Retirement Plans...Confused?
Steve Dunne
Posts: 4,965
In looking at my retirement plan(s), I realized that in the last year I was losing money in all the stocks/bonds/etc that I was enrolled in. I am quite ignorant on all the jargon of Wall St and retirements, etc, but I at least tell when things aren't going well.
Anyone else confused when looking at quarterly statements? I've been fairly aggressive with the allocations, but man I've taken a beating this year. Not sure how to rebound with this.
*disclaimer*...i know...probably my age here, but almost everyone will encounter this at some point in their lives.
Anyone else confused when looking at quarterly statements? I've been fairly aggressive with the allocations, but man I've taken a beating this year. Not sure how to rebound with this.
*disclaimer*...i know...probably my age here, but almost everyone will encounter this at some point in their lives.
I love to turn you on
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I have a great 401k plan and had a financial advisor tell me I have invested in the right mutual funds and stocks going by past history, but this past year was a total wipe for most people. Before last year I was gaining an average of 11% on my 401k. All of mine is based on long term growth, so I am not going to worry about it, the market always bounces back.
anyone thinking of changing their portfolio to a less conservative approach during this awful economic stretch? i thought i remembered hearing a while back that it really help all that much.
you know steve the thought that my superannuation will be invested in what i consider unsound ventures and ones i would never invest in on my own gives me cause for concern. i have been advised that if i can set up my own form of supernannuation then i can 'get out of' the 'official' avenues. but surprise surprise it comes with an additional price. it seriously fucks with my mind that when it comes to superannuation and my retirement i am basically at the mercy of things out of my control. alls i want to do is retire to my farm with my goat and vege patch and be content in the twilight.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
The only thing I understood was the last sentence and that sounds pretty good... as long as the goat isn't a killer goat.
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piss me off and ill teach it to kill.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
You mean to a more conservative approach?
If you do that now, you'll lock in your losses. It's the same old thing -- when you contribute now, you are buying low. I am 34, so I am looking at least at another 20 years in the market. So the last thing I would want to do right now is go conservative and miss out on 20 years of markets ups and downs. If you're getting closes to retirement, move a little more into cash and bonds every year. Otherwise, just stay the course.
I read that post and I felt like Butthead.... "words... words... words..."
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I do like the sound of an attack goat. I might try to kidnap a baby mountain goat this weekend. If you never hear from me again there is a good chance I failed.
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see heres the thing. i dont want to be involved in the markets, in any way shape or form. my fervent anti capitalist nature puts me at odds with the entire system. i dont have the answer and im still grapling(sp?) with my options.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
So you want to invest, but don't want to invest in any sort of market? I'm confused...
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
oxc
*May the Peace of the Wilderness be with YOU*
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
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ill say youre confused.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
yeah i'm in a 'fairly aggressive' boat and will be for the long term. same boat as you.
Once I get out of this town
9/29/04;6/27/08;6/30/08;8/23/09;08/24/09;5/17/10
haha nice! shouldn't you be at school?
Once I get out of this town
9/29/04;6/27/08;6/30/08;8/23/09;08/24/09;5/17/10
How noble. Here in America we call staying out of the market "not having enough to retire." If you don't invest in the markets here, you don't have a prayer of saving.
And unless you're putting your money under your mattress, it's really naive to think that anything else you do is true to some anti capitalist nature.
I was a financial advisor with big firms until I quit to do what I really like. I spent years doing it.
To the OP, the best thing you can do is just file those statements away and don't give your losses another thought. There has never been a 10/20 year period where the market has returned a loss.
Although it may be time to look at your allocations and re-balance, don't do it on account of a 15-20% market downturn based on the first and second quarters of this year alone. The market will rebound, but probably not until we see a change in Administration (ie. new president).
Take your age, subtract it from 120, and that's the percentage that you should have in stocks or stock-based mutual funds. The rest you can put into bonds and/or bond funds, although those are selling at a premium right now (good if you want to amortize your losses).
I've said too much.
Just relax (if you can), don't check your balances every day or even every week, and whatever you do, don't DON'T borrow against your 401k in this market.
So, there you have good advice.
Always invest with a long-term view. Markets are down about 20% since last October, so everyone is getting hit. And in my opinion, moving to cash as some people did a year or two ago is not so wise, either, given what prices are doing.
Speculating in commodities (oil, metals) I would not do unless you really have money to burn. The last time I checked, all the markets were unstable; even oil is way down from where it was a month or two ago, although I am sure it still will kill me to buy heating oil this year.
There are good, free, tools available on-line to help you understand the basics of financial planning. I would start by checking to see if your employer offers planning tools on your benefits/401(k) website.
your 'rebound' will be clearly obvious...in about 10-20 years, when you retire.
and hey, i am older and still fairly agressive invested. i figure i am still at least 20 years from retirement, and even if i somehow managed earlier...i rather try to get as much bang for my buck as long as possible. my firm just the year offered a new investment strategy package based on your age/projected retirement. i chose a package that would be more agressive than my intended retirement age...figure extend the gains a bit more...but i appreciate it that it makes my 401K investment practically a no-brainer.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
just in case anyone else hadn't fucking clue what cate was talking about
It's down across the board. You need to think in terms of the amount of time that you have to retire - not returns from one year or a short period of time. 7 years ago, my accounts lost 30% in one year. It made it all up and then quite a bit more in the few years that followed. If you're within a year or two of retirement, then you need to think about putting it in a money market account to protect it from losses. But if you're more than that, let it ride and don't look at it very often.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I plan on living high off the hog on my social security check!!!
Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me
I plan on robbing folks who bothered saving their money.
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was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Ashbury Park 9/18/21
LA 5/06/21, 5/07/21
Phoenix 05/09/22
NYC 9/11/22
Denver 9/22/22
So this is what they pay you the big bucks for, eh?
pretty much, its about as deep a level of thinking as i like to go with my clients