VTI YTD is 15%

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Well i'm down 15% YTD and so is my mom. It is a very large hit. I would not want to be in the midst of retiring. This is SORR. How's it going? I figured people might decide pain is bad when it hits 30%? How long until you think people turn and say enouogh?

[bjl584]

Seems like people on the cusp of retirement would have (or should have) pivoted into less risky assets by now.
My stepdad dramatically decreased his exposure to equities as he approached retirement a year or so ago.

[james.hendrickson]

Seems like people on the cusp of retirement would have (or should have) pivoted into less risky assets by now.
My stepdad dramatically decreased his exposure to equities as he approached retirement a year or so ago.

Correct - this is what bonds and gold are for.

[disneysteve]

Seems like people on the cusp of retirement would have (or should have) pivoted into less risky assets by now.

Not really, especially if retiring "early". I retired last year at 59. If all goes well, I could live another 30 years or more. My mom is nearly 95. With a 30-year timeline, you still need to have a substantial stake in equities to stay ahead of inflation over the coming decades. We were right around 60% stocks prior to the past few days. Now we're at 54% thanks to the tariff disaster but it will eventually recover.

As for SORR, we also have about 10 years of spending in cash, CDs, and Treasuries, so we have plenty of money to wait for this mess to be gone in 4 years.

[ua_guy]

I'm very worried for my parents. They're almost 80 and I found out last week they are very heavily invested in stocks. Needless to say, they may not have the time for their portfolio to recover, and they live off it. We don't talk money in my family, but we sure as heck do now! And their advisor is getting fired.

[disneysteve]

I'm very worried for my parents. They're almost 80 and I found out last week they are very heavily invested in stocks. Needless to say, they may not have the time for their portfolio to recover, and they live off it. We don't talk money in my family, but we sure as heck do now! And their advisor is getting fired.

That may or may not be a bad thing. Do either of them have a pension? What % of their living expenses is covered by SS? How many months or years of spending do they have in cash/CDs/bonds? If they aren't depending on selling off shares to pay their bills, the short term performance of the market may not affect them at all. A lot of retirees maintain a high equity allocation because they just don't need that money and they are letting it grow to provide a bigger legacy after they're gone.

[Atretes1]

I have VTI in my taxable account. I am taking advantage of the drop and have bought in several times. The advantage has not happened yet because it is still dropping. I am going to keep buying in during the crash until I run out of m spendable cash. I'm 48, retiring at 56 with a pension. I can ride this out.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm very worried for my parents. They're almost 80 and I found out last week they are very heavily invested in stocks. Needless to say, they may not have the time for their portfolio to recover, and they live off it. We don't talk money in my family, but we sure as heck do now! And their advisor is getting fired.

so it depends on if they live off of the portfolio or not. I left my mom pretty much 80% invested 20% cash because she's got a pension/ss. But it really sucks to be watching the go down. She can ride it out because she has houses and she has pension. but it's not a good thing anyway you cut it.

[disneysteve]

so it depends on if they live off of the portfolio or not. I left my mom pretty much 80% invested 20% cash because she's got a pension/ss. But it really sucks to be watching the go down. She can ride it out because she has houses and she has pension. but it's not a good thing anyway you cut it.

I haven't touched my mom's portfolio, or ours for that matter. She doesn't live off of the principal so a drop in the value has no direct impact on her. If companies start cutting dividends due to a prolonged economic downturn, that might be an issue, but at least for now, we're just staying the course. And if she does eventually need to sell some shares, she has enough money that she'd still be fine. She's almost 95 so honestly the only impact the market performance is having is possibly decreasing my future inheritance and I'm okay with that.

[ua_guy]

I haven't gotten to that level of detail with my parents finances, and doubt I will unless they ask for help. They appear to have saved and invested very well, but my dad was pretty concerned about the direction his investor had led him, and market conditions following the fact that the tariffs actually came to fruition. I think a lot of people didn't expect tariffs to materialize like they did. Markets are easing a little this morning, but it's this lasting uncertainty, and wild swinging seemingly every day. He needs to sleep at night. This advisor of theirs has kind of gone off the deep end and I shared my concerns with my dad. At least there will be some change there.

[disneysteve]

I haven't gotten to that level of detail with my parents finances, and doubt I will unless they ask for help. They appear to have saved and invested very well, but my dad was pretty concerned about the direction his investor had led him, and market conditions following the fact that the tariffs actually came to fruition. I think a lot of people didn't expect tariffs to materialize like they did. Markets are easing a little this morning, but it's this lasting uncertainty, and wild swinging seemingly every day. He needs to sleep at night. This advisor of theirs has kind of gone off the deep end and I shared my concerns with my dad. At least there will be some change there.

The fact that they have delegated their financial lives to a complete stranger is the problem here. That's almost never a wise decision as we often discuss.

[ua_guy]

The fact that they have delegated their financial lives to a complete stranger is the problem here. That's almost never a wise decision as we often discuss.

They had been working with this individual for more than 20 years. He wasn't a complete stranger, but I also don't share my father's strategy of having a paid financial advisor. I would love to know if their portfolio has actually outperformed the market as a result of this guy's expertise and guidance, or if he's just hanging on for the ride and following best practices that any individual can.

[disneysteve]

They had been working with this individual for more than 20 years. He wasn't a complete stranger, but I also don't share my father's strategy of having a paid financial advisor. I would love to know if their portfolio has actually outperformed the market as a result of this guy's expertise and guidance, or if he's just hanging on for the ride and following best practices that any individual can.

Come on now, you already know the answer to that question.

No paid advisor is going to outperform the market long term. Just their fee alone makes that virtually impossible to accomplish.

[ua_guy]

Come on now, you already know the answer to that question.

No paid advisor is going to outperform the market long term. Just their fee alone makes that virtually impossible to accomplish.

Honestly, I don't. I doubt their portfolio performance is significantly better than average (wouldn't everyone use an advisor, then?), but obviously my parents feel there is some value there. I don't use an advisor for my portfolio, I manage my own, for better or worse. I've considered consulting with a fiduciary to review overall status, and did, a long time back. But nobody actively manages anything except for me.

[disneysteve]

Honestly, I don't. I doubt their portfolio performance is significantly better than average (wouldn't everyone use an advisor, then?), but obviously my parents feel there is some value there. I don't use an advisor for my portfolio, I manage my own, for better or worse. I've considered consulting with a fiduciary to review overall status, and did, a long time back. But nobody actively manages anything except for me.

Many people believe that "professionals" must have specialized knowledge that the average person can't possibly access, which simply isn't true. Maybe 50 years ago but certainly not today. And with ETFs and mutual funds, getting a well-diversified low-cost portfolio is ridiculously easy. You can literally put all of your money in a single fund from day one of your first job, keep adding to it every paycheck throughout your career, and retire a multi-millionaire. How much easier could it possibly be?

I've seen the portfolios that the "pros" build for their clients. It is very common for them to employ 20-30 funds which is insane. By making investing appear vastly complex, however, they justify their own existence. Certainly the average person couldn't handle all of that. The fund expenses along with the advisor fees are criminally high and just eat into the already sub-par return being generated. The entire industry is one big scam.

The only possible upside to using an advisor is having someone who can talk you off the ledge at times like these and convince you not to sell it all and move to cash.