Anyone else take a beating in the stock market the last month?

[Rockport]

Market index funds will save you a lot of money from someone else managing it for you.

No, not really. You still have to know a lot about the market to be able to pick the right index fund and then know when to trade it in for something else. They are definitely cheaper to buy and maintain, but if you don’t know what you’re doing you can lose money during downturns as well as upturns.

 

[Denim Chicken]

I liquidated the rest of my assets in May. The bear has been at the doorsteps, I just wasn't sure exactly when. With the tarrifs started flying and China's growth was already slowing (meaning the world's requirements were slowing) it was time to take profits before losing them en masse.

No way this bull market could continue. Not to mention it's 9 freaking years old. All good things must come to an end.

It's not a bear, but a correction. A bear is more gradual.

I will advise a good buy is right now is anything affected by the tariffs / tarde war (MU, BABA, etc..) Once a deal is made they'll shoot back up.

 

[rynochop]

I hear just put it all municipal bonds..tax free income

 

[YosemiteSam]

No, not really. You still have to know a lot about the market to be able to pick the right index fund and then know when to trade it in for something else. They are definitely cheaper to buy and maintain, but if you don’t know what you’re doing you can lose money during downturns as well as upturns.

I'm not talking about sector / small cap, etc based indexes, I'm talking about overall general indexes. The S&P 500 is probably the most general one overall. (Though they were getting FANG heavy) The Dow and Nasdaq are more sector based.

As for losing money, you always can. Using an overall index spreads your risk over many sectors rather than just getting killed when a single sector gets burned. Even in downturns, there are sectors that keep rising. They don't all fall. Hence, overall market index is your best bet to limit how much damage is done in a drop.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I hear just put it all municipal bonds..tax free income

Careful, that isn't always true and then you need to know the makeup of those municipal bonds funds. You buy bonds from a city near bankruptcy. You're going eat dirt, not hit pay-dirt. Also, as interest rates rise, you can get in a lot of hurt. Especially depending on the market when you initially purchased them.

 

[cwbyfn88]

Stocks are way too volatile for me to ever invest in them. I watched my brother lose over a hundred thousand. 4000 of it mine. I prefer investment properties. AndAnd that's what I'm saving towards. Once I buy my first one with cash I will always be able to borrow against my other properties to buy more. On top of that I'm looking to convert my term life policy into a whole life policy which can be used as a supplemental retirement plan

 

[YosemiteSam]

It's not a bear, but a correction. A bear is more gradual.

I will advise a good buy is right now is anything affected by the tariffs / tarde war (MU, BABA, etc..) Once a deal is made they'll shoot back up.

The bear is almost here. Look at how volatile the market is. What that is saying is the market is topping out and while many are still trying to be bulls (pushing the market up) the bears and started to pull the market down. We are getting at that equilibrium of bulls and bears. That is a precursor to a major down turn, the momentum is swinging and market conditions aren't as favorable as they once were. When the boat starts rocking heavily, it's time to pull the ship into the docks and tie her down. A storm is coming. Wait out the heavy part of the storm, then start buying while everyone is still huddled away in fear of the market's recent collapse.

Another precursor is the market sky-rocking out of control going extremely way over valued. (.com bust)

 

[Rockport]

I'm not talking about sector / small cap, etc based indexes, I'm talking about overall general indexes. The S&P 500 is probably the most general one overall. (Though they were getting FANG heavy) The Dow and Nasdaq are more sector based.

As for losing money, you always can. Using an overall index spreads your risk over many sectors rather than just getting killed when a single sector gets burned. Even in downturns, there are sectors that keep rising. They don't all fall. Hence, overall market index is your best bet to limit how much damage is done in a drop.

Yes but in a bear market you want to be more heavily invested in bonds or currency or commodities and out of equities. Generally speaking of course.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I'm down about 2%.

I've started shifting money around. I've moved about a third of my portfolio into 20 or so income generating investments (stocks, bonds, reits, etns, and cefs,) in varying industries, left a third in index funds, and moved a third into cash to hedge against a downturn and/or to buy back in when prices fall.

I may also start writing some covered calls against some of my holdings to add to my earnings a bit. If my expenses remain low, I think I can live on the returns of a third of my portfolio for a few years.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Market index funds will save you a lot of money from someone else managing it for you.

Understood.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Stocks are way too volatile for me to ever invest in them. I watched my brother lose over a hundred thousand. 4000 of it mine. I prefer investment properties. AndAnd that's what I'm saving towards. Once I buy my first one with cash I will always be able to borrow against my other properties to buy more. On top of that I'm looking to convert my term life policy into a whole life policy which can be used as a supplemental retirement plan

Stocks can be as volatile as someone wants to make them...

I started investing in 1990... So much per month every month. No matter if the market was high, low or whatever.

And I invested the money into funds that even by 1990 standards had been around for decades and up to that point had averaged very good returns.

Yeah, I took a bath in October. But I've taken baths in other months/time periods too. You just grit your teeth and move forward because historically speaking, I'll make back my loses and then some.

If someone wants to take a flyer on penny-stocks or something that offers a huge return with a lot of risk– Then those opportunities are out there too... And you can lose your shirt quickly.

I prefer to invest like Warren Buffet... Buy & hold for the long-term.

Nothing wrong with investment properties. Just not a "sit on your arse" type investment like I have with my mutual funds. I've owned investment property... It has its own issues. LOL!

 

[YosemiteSam]

Yes but in a bear market you want to be more heavily invested in bonds or currency or commodities and out of equities. Generally speaking of course.

Yes, you just need to be acutely aware of interest rates. There is a time and place for living in the money market.

If you're a long investor, then just stay put unless you're close to retirement.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Stocks can be as volatile as someone wants to make them...

I started investing in 1990... So much per month every month. No matter if the market was high, low or whatever.

And I invested the money into funds that even by 1990 standards had been around for decades and up to that point had averaged very good returns.

Yeah, I took a bath in October. But I've taken baths in other months/time periods too. You just grit your teeth and move forward because historically speaking, I'll make back my loses and then some.

If someone wants to take a flyer on penny-stocks or something that offers a huge return with a lot of risk– Then those opportunities are out there too... And you can lose your shirt quickly.

I prefer to invest like Warren Buffet... Buy & hold for the long-term.

Nothing wrong with investment properties. Just not a "sit on your arse" type investment like I have with my mutual funds. I've owned investment property... It has its own issues. LOL!

This is good insight. Markets swing, if you are a long investor. Don't worry about market swings, they will come back providing the country doesn't falter. If you notice, even with all the depressions that occurred, we were still breaking records. (ie, massive losses today can and will be made up in the future so stay steady)

I'm a mix of long and short term investments. Most of my longs are index funds. (though not all) Most of my shorter term investments are sectors or specific stocks that have strong cores and long term future prospects. As I noted earlier, my short term investments where liquidated back in May and are now sitting in money markets or 4-week treasury t-bills.

For my long term investments. Periods of time like this, I push those monthly investment allocations into a money market account. Once the bloodletting starts to calm, I will migrate those into most likely an index fund.

 

[cwbyfn88]

Stocks can be as volatile as someone wants to make them...

I started investing in 1990... So much per month every month. No matter if the market was high, low or whatever.

And I invested the money into funds that even by 1990 standards had been around for decades and up to that point had averaged very good returns.

Yeah, I took a bath in October. But I've taken baths in other months/time periods too. You just grit your teeth and move forward because historically speaking, I'll make back my loses and then some.

If someone wants to take a flyer on penny-stocks or something that offers a huge return with a lot of risk– Then those opportunities are out there too... And you can lose your shirt quickly.

I prefer to invest like Warren Buffet... Buy & hold for the long-term.

Nothing wrong with investment properties. Just not a "sit on your arse" type investment like I have with my mutual funds. I've owned investment property... It has its own issues. LOL!

That is very true. Like renters who will not pay and it takes a long annoying process through the court system to get these a holes out. Massachusetts is a terrible system to work with when trying to get out tenants who don't pay especially if they have kids.

 

[Cowboys_22]

I let my financial advisor worry about that. Long term is what I was advised. I may not live long enough to collect it but my beneficiaries will be very happy

 

[YosemiteSam]

I let my financial advisor worry about that. Long term is what I was advised. I may not live long enough to collect it but my beneficiaries will be very happy

Ah, you're like me then. Racing to the box!

 

[Cowboys_22]

Ah, you're like me then. Racing to the box!

Not racing lol but the finish line is closer today than it yesterday

 

[lukin2006]

No. I just wish I had money in the market to lose...lol

 

[MichaelWinicki]

No. I just wish I had money in the market to lose...lol

Well you should have money in the market.

If it's a situation of not having enough in order to put a portion into the market then consider this...

Even when I didn't have a lot in the way of income I practiced the rule of "Pay yourself first" meaning that no matter what I made a portion was going into some sort of investment account.

I wasn't flush with cash but I managed through the careful management of my money to be able to set aside a certain amount each and every month that went into the market.

Time marches by so quickly that a monthly investment of even $100 multiplies rapidly.

 

[Ren]

Stocks are way too volatile for me to ever invest in them. I watched my brother lose over a hundred thousand. 4000 of it mine. I prefer investment properties. AndAnd that's what I'm saving towards. Once I buy my first one with cash I will always be able to borrow against my other properties to buy more. On top of that I'm looking to convert my term life policy into a whole life policy which can be used as a supplemental retirement plan

I did this when i moved to tx from Oslo, cost of living here is so cheap i had enough money left over after selling my condo and paying of the mortgage to buy 2 houses here.
1 i live inn, 1 i rent out and i have enough in equity to buy another and pay back the loan and taxes with the rent. My goal is to have 3-4 rentals by the time i retire