Is it time to change portfolio?

[m3racer]

Ok, so everyone is taking a beating these days. I'm no exception. I'm thinking about reallocating a percentage of my future contributions into a wachovia div stable fund (US Treasuries). Currently I'm at 100% stocks and my portfolio is down 40%. My time horizon is ~30yrs until retirement. Any thoughts?

[sweeps]

I think it will be a move you will come to regret.

[Broken Arrow]

Succinctly, I second sweeps.

[disneysteve]

What you are proposing is a "buy LOW, sell HIGH" philosophy, just the opposite of what folks strive to do. Now, when the market is at a 5-year low, why would you want to stop investing in stocks if you have a 30-year investment horizon? It doesn't make any sense to wait until they go back up to start buying them again.

[m3racer]

What you are proposing is a "buy LOW, sell HIGH" philosophy, just the opposite of what folks strive to do. Now, when the market is at a 5-year low, why would you want to stop investing in stocks if you have a 30-year investment horizon? It doesn't make any sense to wait until they go back up to start buying them again.

There are some that would allocate more toward US Treasuries and get a positive return during a down market like this. Than wait until the bull starts taking off and reinvest into the market. Of course no one know when the bull will take over.

[Broken Arrow]

Yeah, I know. I suppose that's the holy grail of investing that we all want. To know exactly when to buy into something when it is going up or down.

And admittedly, many still do try anyway, including myself.

But in the end, we have to accept that we may not ever really know when something will go up or down. And that's OK. But if that's the case, we need to just set our allocations properly and then just leave the money alone.

Please remember that investor risk is the greatest risk of all. We are often our own worst enemy.

[jIM_Ohio]

Buy more shares of stocks now with new contributions. Be patient and your 30 year horizon might be reduced to 25 years if you are patient as me.

[rooskers]

If this forum is still around when the stock markets hit new highs I am going to post this same question (should we be thinking about changing our portfolio to be more conservative).

When I suggested that my friend take out some profits he had made in foreign stocks he laughed at me and asked if I was crazy. He was up around 400% at that point. Now he is asking me similar things like should I invest in CD's?

[Broken Arrow]

If this forum is still around when the stock markets hit new highs I am going to post this same question (should we be thinking about changing our portfolio to be more conservative).

Hahaha, yes, what an excellent question that'll be.

And you know what? If you're passively investing, you just keep on contributing and let your portfolio do its thing.

But if you're actively investing or trading, then yes, that's when you start looking elsewhere. Buy low, sell high.

When I suggested that my friend take out some profits he had made in foreign stocks he laughed at me and asked if I was crazy. He was up around 400% at that point. Now he is asking me similar things like should I invest in CD's?

Yeah, unfortunately, staying with something simply because it has shot up, and therefore, that must means it will continue to shoot up is... quite flawed as your friend discovered.

[feh]

I think it will be a move you will come to regret.

I agree. I don't know where the bottom is, but this seems to be a once-a-decade buying opportunity.

[KGeary]

Ok, so everyone is taking a beating these days. I'm no exception. I'm thinking about reallocating a percentage of my future contributions into a wachovia div stable fund (US Treasuries). Currently I'm at 100% stocks and my portfolio is down 40%. My time horizon is ~30yrs until retirement. Any thoughts?

It's only a loss if you realize it by selling. Remember, you only get hurt on a roller coaster when you jump off.

[disneysteve]

It's only a loss if you realize it by selling. Remember, you only get hurt on a roller coaster when you jump off.

One little problem with that analogy. A roller coaster ride ends at the bottom.

[tripods68]

Ok, so everyone is taking a beating these days. I'm no exception. I'm thinking about reallocating a percentage of my future contributions into a wachovia div stable fund (US Treasuries). Currently I'm at 100% stocks and my portfolio is down 40%. My time horizon is ~30yrs until retirement. Any thoughts?

As long you understand the the pro and cons of doing so.

We still don't know when the market "hit" bottom. Maybe we are already on the way up. No one really knows. Like you and everybody else here who follow the market on fairly regular basis, most experts will never accurately predict market behavior. When it all boils down, we are all market speculators, trying to make "educated" guesses.
Definitely, putting money in the treasury for now will help eliminate further losses in value. Worst case scenario, you can still preserve your assets, knowing you can redeploy those assets at some point. But that just to make you feel comfortable. There's nothing wrong with that.

[maat55]

This market could stay down for five years and I'm staying in. I'm buying as many shares as possible before the big wave hits.

Glenn Beck say's it will go to 5000. Oh well, just more cheaper shares.