Is it rightime to invest in stocks? (wholesale, deduction, real estate)
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Right now, the market is really, really, really high. It almost seems artificially high compared to the actual economy. I'm no expert, but something doesn't feel right to me, and thus I'm a little hesitant to invest right now.
Been thinking the same thing. Several times we've almost set an appointment with the group that manages my wife and my retirement funds to tell them to back them way out of stocks (it’s in a managed portfolio group that we get to use for free due to where my wife works and it’s broad based but tilted toward a more aggressive portfolio now). I don’t care who is president, the market as a whole doesn’t go up forever ad infinitum and it’s been going up a long long time. Now, the little bit here in there in individual stocks I’m not so worried about as that’s not money we are counting on for retirement. We have a 20-25 year horizon before we would start to use the retirement money.
Not everyone participating in this thread has a 30 year timeline.
if they have money they are not eating with for 20-30 years than even at 65 they have long term money . 10-20 years i would still have in something like wellesly .
it is only the nearer term money i would have in fixed income .
as for myself , i am 65 and i have current year in cash .
years 2-6 are in an income model , basically 75% assorted bond funds and 25% an equity dividend fund . it is 75% less volatile than the s&p500
6-12 is in a growth and income model and all the rest in a 100% growth model for the long term .
I never invested in stocks. But i see people earning alot in stocks. so i thought of investing as well. But is it rightime to invest in stocks?
I have been an investor for around 45 years. YES, I said 45 years! Is it a good time? I wouldn't do it unless you look at oil stocks. They are about the only sector that isn't overpriced at the moment. I would look at RDS and BP for starters. Exon seems a little more pricy. I think we are due for a correction at some point. Something is due to rock the boat. When it happens then you can look at the other sectors.
You could subscribe to Valueline for example. That publication is quite good and I use it.
Don't over invest since you are new. Just invest a bit and learn. Good luck. I have made millions in the market, but I take my time and wait.
Investing in stocks is not all wine and roses. I remember reading an analysis of stock market performance across countries over long periods of time, and the situation is more mixed than, "stocks tomorrow will probably be worth more than stocks today".
Entire stock markets can be destroyed by, most likely political, catastrophes. Consider what happened to a lot of European stock markets during the world wars. The American stock markets have done very well because of political stability, but few countries are as stable.
If catastrophe strikes before you die, you can lose a lot. Bonds are safer because, one they return less, and two they are often backed by the sovereign, which is usually the last domino to fall. For someone with access to American capital markets, disposable income, and a decade or more of work ahead of them, by all means invest in stocks today. However for most people worldwide stock markets are justifiably seen as risky.
those in equities a long time can lose 1/2 of what they gained and still surpass being in bonds.
if you want a paint a gloomy picture , why use bonds , go right to gold . but you will likely end up being a lot poorer for it just as all those who always think the sky is falling and avoided risk .
the most dangerous thing any retiree can do ,who counts on their savings for income is go 100% fixed income .
already they would have failed to last drawing 4% inflation adjusted more than 1/2 of the 117 rolling 30 year retirement time frames we already had .
50/50-60/40 have lasted 95% of them , even 100% equities last 93% of them , fixed income lasted 45% of them . you tell us which is the risky bet ?
Last edited by mathjak107; 10-21-2017 at 04:23 AM..
I already use set portfolios with an aggressive 35 to 40 year outlook. I was just nervous before the election last fall. To be sure, i cost myself money (a lot. Because the market soared the last year)but I plan to get back in at the next correction with the bulk of my funds. Some portions of it is already invested at the aggressive mix. I have 30 more years to invest. I don't trust where the market sits today, which is why the largest chunk is going to wait until a 10 to 20 percent correction before I get back in.
I made a major job change and bought a house, so I wasn't comfortable in the fall of 2016 with the small gains I was achieving anyways and basically risking all of my remaining capital. I've been proven wrong so far, but that's fine. I'll get back on track with the other part of my money.
The auto industry to me is the canary in the coal mine, from my perspective. I think the stock market has disconnected from the real economy. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong. Chances are, I made a mistake because most gains over the lifetime of your investment come from a few handful of days of gains. Being out on one of those days crushes your life time returns....and I could have been out for a few of mine over the last year.
If you have a set portfolio then stick with it. If you're second guessing it, that means your risk tolerance is lower than you think it is, so maybe it's time to be at least a little bit less aggressive. The key is to be consistent and if you must make a move, make small, gradual ones. I learned this the hard way.
What people do you see earning a lot of money in stocks? Generally the best way to earn a lot of money in stocks is to first have a lot of money to invest like $10k and up and invest it in good companies like Google, Amazon etc that will continue to go up
Lots of people have made good money in plain old stock index funds.
A $10,000 investment in Vanguard's S&P 500 Index fund 10 years ago would now be worth $21,738, and that included the market crash of late 2007 to March of 2009 (8.07% annualized). Not a fortune, but not bad.
Been thinking the same thing. Several times we've almost set an appointment with the group that manages my wife and my retirement funds to tell them to back them way out of stocks (it’s in a managed portfolio group that we get to use for free due to where my wife works and it’s broad based but tilted toward a more aggressive portfolio now). I don’t care who is president, the market as a whole doesn’t go up forever ad infinitum and it’s been going up a long long time. Now, the little bit here in there in individual stocks I’m not so worried about as that’s not money we are counting on for retirement. We have a 20-25 year horizon before we would start to use the retirement money.
I agree with both you and nicholas_n. I believe the market is way over inflated due to the irrational exuberance brought on by the election of a pro-business Republican. But my thinking is more in line with John Chafee who said, "Caution, not exuberance, should be our fiscal motto".
While I do care who's president, you're right about the market not going up forever. I retired in late '15 and like most retirees have moved our funds into more stable investments, so I'm not too worried. But if I still had a long way to go before retirement, I'd be very weary of the market right now.
Trump may be all bluster when it comes to our economy, but his reckless insulting of the legislators need for tax cuts and other pro-business legislation, only makes them less likely to pass into law. It's been ten months now and nothing has come out of Congress. How long will our business leaders wait in giddy anticipation of a tax cut and other legislation that may never happen?
if you have decades to go trying to play the timing game is the worst thing you can do . in the long term scheme of things these downturns amount to a blip on a chart.
most have to learn the hard way about pulling out based on the seat of their pants . the hard part is getting back in it rarely plays out well .
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