I haven't changed my retirement portfolio at all, even though my Internal Rate of Return for 2008 was around negative-38% overall. Here are my reasons:
I felt good about my asset allocation before all of this happened, and I have no reason to believe that any other allocation is going to perform any better in the future.
I have a portfolio that has tracked well with the overall market.
I really don't want to retire for another thirty years, if then.
If the stock market goes back up in thirty years, then I'm buying on the cheap, and will be doing GREAT for having stayed the course now.
If the S&P does not go up for thirty straight years, my retirement portfolio will be among the least of my worries. In such a circumstance, we'll be facing worldwide chaos. I'll be poor, but so will you and everybody else.
Bart,
ReplyDeleteThat last line was GREAT!
As a practicing accountant and auditor, let me just weigh in and say that the stock market in any given 5 year period has always made money. Maybe not great money but it has made money. Therefore, it is ALWAYS best to be in it for the long haul. The longer the better.
ReplyDeleteThat, by the way, is my PROFESSIONAL opinion.
Praise God that you, like the rest of God's children, have a retirement far beyond anything as fickle as the market, and it's nice to see someone not fretting over it.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word for that 30-year-from-now stuff. I doubt I'll witness it, myself.
ReplyDeleteAs it happens (yeh, right) my SIMPLE plan account manager told me last February to take the money out of the market and put it into annuities. We did, and it sure worked for us.
At your age, I'd stay the course, too.
Good reasoning. Would you care to buy me some too?
ReplyDeleteI am now 51. I have always had the philosophy that a recession is a great time to buy low.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as I get closer and closer to retirement, I am starting to get a little more concerned.
I have less than 20 years until retirement now, maybe about 15 to 18. I'm still not too nervous, but I'm less comfortable than I was the last time (2001/2002).
Bart, our sentiments exactly. Except we'll probably be dead in 30 years for sure. :) selahV
ReplyDeleteHey Bart, do you have your money invested in the lower risk portfolio right now? we took ours out of the higher risk quite a while back. Of course, we are retirement age, and you've got a long way to go, you lucky dawg. selahV
ReplyDelete