Stock/bond allocation

[Rich M]

“They say”, who is they? Think about who they are and what they stand to gain???

My SiL is a wealthy guy w plenty of money. He likes to invest in bonds only. Go figure. The millionaire i know is doing 100% bonds right now.

I need the compound interest.

I know what the options in my 401k are. If you set it aon “medium” the older you get the more bonds they give you.

Wish i could put the money from my bonds into a 5% cd or a high yield money market but we dont have those options. It would be a better bet imo.

 

[Elkbelch]

I am 53 and shifting to a more conservative approach. I stayed in high growth the last 20 years even when my Fidelity advisor said I was too risky. If I had followed their advice I would have missed out on a bunch of earnings. I am set now and don't want to give it back. Actually I've shifted some to a 2030 target date fund to gain more bonds. I was in Contrafund for years till we dropped it for OTC. I think Ill retire at 55 on 4% withdraws from my current employers 401k program. We have a Roth option as well as a brokerage link so I have a bunch in individual stocks too.

 

[SBTX]

Got to sit in on a meeting with folks investing millions from oil and gas money. Fund manager at the big bank gave decent rationale for going all stock and ETF. Fund managers doing their best to stay out of China. Everything I have is stock and funds, no bonds for me. But I would be classified as an aggressive investor. As others have said, your age in bonds is traditional advice.

 

[Marble]

“They say”, who is they? Think about who they are and what they stand to gain???

This is exactly what I tell people. The finiancial advisers get commissions and benefits by buying certain products. So whenever my FA suggests something, I always wonder what's in it for him. It's like buying whole life insurance instead of term. The people selling it like to calling it an investment. Technically that's true. But it's a very crappy one and very expensive comparatively.

Some of the better funds have expensive buy in rates. I remember paying 3% for a buy in, but after comparing it to others that were similar and looking at 10, 20, 30 and 40 year returns, it was, and has been, well worth it. Now that I've bought in, I only pay 1% because of the amount of stock I own.

I tend to error towards the more aggressive side of investing. I already get a pension every month, then make a very good salary. I've got a minimum of 11.5 years until I can draw from my IRAs. So I'm not really worried about an imminent downturn.

 

[H@mstar19x3]

I have a little bit of bonds. But i really don’t care about them.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Comes down to if you are in a growth or preservation mode, or some mix of the two. Only you can decide on your appetite for risk, and your time horizon. Following allocation models will give you modest returns and you will sleep well at night. With risk can come great reward, but most people cant stomach volatility so they sell low and it backfires. A quote that I think about often from Warren Buffet: 'If you aren't thinking about owning a stock for ten years, don't even think about owning it for ten minutes.'

All that said, whenever I sell a stock, it takes off like a rocket, and whenever I buy, it tanks, so definitely don't listen to me

 

[Ucsdryder]

Comes down to if you are in a growth or preservation mode, or some mix of the two. Only you can decide on your appetite for risk, and your time horizon. Following allocation models will give you modest returns and you will sleep well at night. With risk can come great reward, but most people cant stomach volatility so they sell low and it backfires. A quote that I think about often from Warren Buffet: 'If you aren't thinking about owning a stock for ten years, don't even think about owning it for ten minutes.'

All that said, whenever I sell a stock, it takes off like a rocket, and whenever I buy, it tanks, so definitely don't listen to me

Let me know when you decide to sell a few and what they are.

 

[Grundy53]

I'm 100% stocks. Mainly VTI.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[intunegp]

My 401k is sitting at 97.1% stocks 2.9% bonds. I have 25 years to go if things go well...if they don't the plan will have to change. The bonds are just a result of the holdings of the various ETFs and index funds I'm invested in. I pick my own, less than 5% of the portfolio is in a target date fund and I'm sure that's where the bonds are too. 24% rate of return since this time last year.

I also have a Roth buying only SCHD/reinvesting dividends and I throw money at that whenever I have extra.

 

[Dos Perros]

My strategy is to retire when I want, and then adjust my standard of living in retirement if I must. The logic being I can influence how I live more than I can influence when I die.

 

[mlevimadden]

I'm currently 100% stocks but only mutual funds, no individual stocks. I'm 33 though so currently in a more aggressive portfolio to maximize gains for retirement.

My 457 is a target date set and forget type, then I have my play account where I do a lot of stock picks, but lately have just leaned towards etfs (dividend yielding) have a few other accounts but once again don’t mess with bonds all that much since I’m 34 and have some time before I’ll need to touch anything.

I would check what the expense ratio is on your target date fund for your 457 account. Those funds can get some crazy expense ratio's compared to a Vanguard mutual fund in the 0.05% range and make a huge difference on compound interest over 20-30 years.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I'm currently 100% stocks but only mutual funds, no individual stocks. I'm 33 though so currently in a more aggressive portfolio to maximize gains for retirement.


I would check what the expense ratio is on your target date fund for your 457 account. Those funds can get some crazy expense ratio's compared to a Vanguard mutual fund in the 0.05% range and make a huge difference on compound interest over 20-30 years.

For sure! Solid advice I need to look in and double check that the expense ratios are as low as I can get. Sort of frustrating but nationwide runs our 457 and limits what you can invest in, unless you jump through hoops to prove you can manage your own money… crazy to have to do that

 

[mtnbiker208]

I am 55 and i am 60\40. age, amount you have invested and if you remember 2008 dictates alot.

 

[2531usmc]

I am 55 and i am 60\40. age, amount you have invested and if you remember 2008 dictates alot.

Yeah, those of us that have lived through periods when the bottom falls out understand the pain of seeing you portfolio melt away.

And for those who are 100% in equities, when the bottom of the market falls out, that is the time to take the cash portion of your portfolio and buy equities. This is where the real money is made for people that have the stomach to jump back in.

 

[MallardSX2]

^^^^ I know several guys who became millionaires doing just that.

 

[2531usmc]

And it’s funny because you think to yourself “I’ll cash out when the market slides away”. But you really can’t see it as it is happening.

You’re thinking that the market will bounce back or “maybe I should buy the dip”. But by then the big institutions have taken their money off the table and you’re left thinking “coulda, shoulda”

 

[Hnthrdr]

And it’s funny because you think to yourself “I’ll cash out when the market slides away”. But you really can’t see it as it is happening.

You’re thinking that the market will bounce back or “maybe I should buy the dip”. But by then the big institutions have taken their money off the table and you’re left thinking “coulda, shoulda”

Ie the 2019 dip… I jumped in “timidly” but the stocks I bought and I obviously didn’t buy enough are up hundreds of percentages

 

[Muddler]

I believe I'm 90% stocks in the 401k. Moved 10% to I think some bond/fund that basically makes no interest and is basically the equivalent to cash.

I don't understand economics, but the US is $35 trillion in debt and Washington shows no signs of slowing down. Sooner or later I'd have to assume the chickens are coming home to roost and the market is gonna crash. Maybe that 10% won't do me any good, but I feel at least a little better that I'm a bit hedged.

 

[Speaks]

Im nearly 100% equities though I am only 40 which contributes to that. I really cant see putting funds intended for anything longer than a 5 year time horizon in anything but equities even in the future though.

 

[mtnbiker208]

Yeah, those of us that have lived through periods when the bottom falls out understand the pain of seeing you portfolio melt away.

And for those who are 100% in equities, when the bottom of the market falls out, that is the time to take the cash portion of your portfolio and buy equities. This is where the real money is made for people that have the stomach to jump back in.

So I am an employer and in 2009, i cut my pay rate in half, so i could pay my employees, but i maxed out my 401k. I was able to buy lots and lots of shares for the next 5 years. That approach has worked out very nice for me now. If the market does tank, buy, buy, buy!