Are you still in the stock market?

seadoug

seadoug

Senior Member
Location
Texas
I'm not advocating any investment strategy but I've been in equities for over 30 years, mostly due to adding the maximum to my 401k when I was working. I was thrilled with the market's performance over the past few years.

Now, things have just gotten too crazy for me to stay in. After yesterday's decline I moved to CDs that pay 4.5% and to bonds. I still have minimal exposure in equities, mostly due to cash needs in the future. I saw today the market was again down over 400 points so I felt I made the right decision.

I know the market rebounded 65% after the Great Recession for those that held firm, but I'm older and I just don't have the stomach for this anymore. I need to preserve my savings and I'm happy with the 4.5% compared to what I was earning earlier. I feel like I can watch the craziness that is going on with more objectivity and less fear.

Anyone else still in the stock market or have you moved on?
 

I run 60/40 to 50/50 and rebalance from time to time.

IMO it all depends on how much you rely on your investments to cover current expenses and how much money you have earmarked for your heirs.

Do what feels right for you and your situation.


“J.P. Morgan once had a friend who was so worried about his stock holdings that he could not sleep at night. The friend asked, 'What should I do about my stocks?' Morgan replied, 'Sell down to your sleeping point' Every investor must decide the trade-off he or she is willing to make between eating well and sleeping well. High investment rewards can only be achieved at the cost of substantial risk-taking. So what is your sleeping point? Finding the answer to this question is one of the most important investment steps you must take.” - Burton Malkiel
 
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We dabble a bit in the stock market but not enough to lose sleep over. Within the last week the markets been down. I think it’s due to all the new tariffs being made. We should have probably sold earlier but it’s a learning experience. We don’t have much invested so aren’t too concerned.
 
Yes. I inherited most of it and learned to stay the course. I made mistakes I regret
and also great buys. If you have insomnia from worrying about it, Then I
recommend taking something for your nerves. Trades are free with Schwab, a major broker.
 
Somewhere (search wizards may find this better than I) are reports of how people, psychologically, are more likely to want keeping their existing hoard than growing it. I've been anchored in that mindset for 10 years now. Nothing wrong with asset allocation of (equities/bonds/cash)
35/60/5 which is not far from the old adage "your age in bonds".
 
A large part of our investments are in stocks and bonds. We take a monthly 'draw' from an investment account we have in a bank. This account has a small interest rate that is applied to the balance in the account but also allows us to draw on it whenever we want to. Once a year we deposit the interest/ growth earned from our investments into this liquid account. This coupled with our SSI coming in monthly we have plenty to live on day to day. If we want to travel for a vacation or whatever, we draw that money from our investment account...
 
I have a "Stocks & Shares Individual Savings Account" (ISA), where there is no UK income tax or capital gains tax to pay on any gains or dividends. It's a managed account that’s invested in the FTSE 100, the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. By ‘managed’, it means the money is actively moved between different companies within the FTSE 100 index.

During stock market crashes over the past few decades, when many people got scared and pulled their money out, I kept mine in and continued adding to it monthly. Because it was in there for the long turm, it’s performed well, especially as most others seemed to be focused on short term gains.

As I approach retirement, I feel it’s time to move my money into more stable investments. Over the past two years, I’ve been gradually moving my funds into fixed-rate, fixed-term bank bonds to reduce risk and ensure more stability, as these offer guaranteed returns over a set period.
 
I will stay invested. I've weathered many storms in the 40 years I've been in the market. The absolute worse time to pull out is when the market is down, which is a mistake many people make; the buy high, sell low syndrome. The exception is if an individual does not suffer loses when they sell. A couple of decades ago, I learned the hard way to keep enough in savings that I can weather the market downturns. In fact, I wait for downturns to buy. I wish I'd waited a little longer to buy shares of the last fund I purchased, twice in Feb and on March 10th. The latter date had the better price.

The market did take a dive this week and the Nasdaq (which governs most of my investments) was down by 4%. Today, according to Yahoo Finance, one of the ways I track my portfolio performance, my investments were down by4.8%, but my total gain since I began tracking is 54.35%. The Nasdaq is up by 1.22% today. What's in my investment portfolio is meant to tide me over if something happens to change my financial circumstance eg: to pay for a nursing facility, or preferably at home care if I ever need it or a catastrophic event that causes me to have to move (and pay much higher housing costs). But I'm hoping most of my assets will be left for my son and other heirs.
 
I don't understand how people can "get out", if I got out I'd owe a lot of taxes on the gains. So I'm kind of stuck being 'in', except in my IRAs, one of those is all bonds and the other is maybe 70% bonds/cash. I did move what I was willing to pay the taxes on, into more conservative & defensive positions, but I did that already in January and February.
 
HoneyNut said:
I don't understand how people can "get out", if I got out I'd owe a lot of taxes on the gains. So I'm kind of stuck being 'in', except in my IRAs, one of those is all bonds and the other is maybe 70% bonds/cash. I did move what I was willing to pay the taxes on, into more conservative & defensive positions, but I did that already in January and February.
Click to expand...
"Get out" doesn't necessarily mean withdrawing funds, moving funds to safer accounts may not result in any tax.
 
HoneyNut said:
I don't understand how people can "get out", if I got out I'd owe a lot of taxes on the gains. So I'm kind of stuck being 'in', except in my IRAs, one of those is all bonds and the other is maybe 70% bonds/cash. I did move what I was willing to pay the taxes on, into more conservative & defensive positions, but I did that already in January and February.
Click to expand...
They might have their stocks in IRA or other tax deferred accouts. But, anybody who’s had stocks in a regular taxable account for a decade or so would be hit with capital gains tax. Unless the stock picks were poor. Assuming descent stock picks over the past decade then the tax on the gains is minimal compared to ordinary income taxes for BIG earners.

Personally, I am waiting for the market to drop 25% or more. Then I will have an opportunity to buy into a US Market index fund at a lower price and make some real money in a few years. But, what do I know. I can’t predict the future. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 

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