Investing megathread extravaganza

[DaFace]

A place to talk about investing stuff.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by eDave

Hey guys. I've got a friend who is new to the 401K thing, though he has around $25K so far. He is same age as me, 50. His company matches up to 4%. He is contributing 10%.

What would be the the best 401K portfolio for a guy like that? He'll assume more risk as he'd like to maximize over the next 15 years. Don't know his salary, but in the 28% bracket.

I recommended small/midcap fund but would like to hear other's thoughts. And those went to shit today. Down 2.75%.

Thank you Gentlemen,
eDavid

I hope he has other investments besides his 401k. If he only has 25k put away at age 50, he's way behind. Other than that comment, there has already been great advice given. I'm a big believer in index funds.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

I hope he has other investments besides his 401k. If he only has 25k put away at age 50, he's way behind. Other than that comment, there has already been great advice given. I'm a big believer in index funds.

I hope so too. If he doesn't, he needs to be maxing it out every year from here on out and probably have some side investments too.

I also have switched most of my 401k over to index funds. If I want to tilt my portfolio to a certain sector, I do that in my Roth IRA.

[ChiliConCarnage]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I hope so too. If he doesn't, he needs to be maxing it out every year from here on out and probably have some side investments too.

I also have switched most of my 401k over to index funds. If I want to tilt my portfolio to a certain sector, I do that in my Roth IRA.

An IRA is another thing to mention. If he's doing 10%, he may be much better off only matching his 401k. Depends on his 401k but it's frequently true. If 25k is really what he has total then he should do everything he can to get as much in as possible.

He might want to look into places to retire in South/central America. Panama, Costa Rica maybe

[eDave]

Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage

An IRA is another thing to mention. If he's doing 10%, he may be much better off only matching his 401k. Depends on his 401k but it's frequently true. If 25k is really what he has total then he should do everything he can to get as much in as possible.

He might want to look into places to retire in South/central America. Panama, Costa Rica maybe

Are you saying an IRA is a better option in the long run? That's advise I'll take too.

This is one of my team members that I like, am coaching professionally and I would really like to help him get on track. He knows he won't retire to a life of leisure.

He's just had a life that didn't allow for much investing. Thank you all for your advise.

[ChiliConCarnage]

Originally Posted by eDave

Are you saying an IRA is a better option in the long run? That's advise I'll take too.

This is one of my team members that I like, am coaching professionally and I would really like to help him get on track. He knows he won't retire to a life of leisure.

He's just had a life that didn't allow for much investing. Thank you all for your advise.

For most people: hit 401k match, max IRA, max 401k if possible. It depends on the 401k plan but for most people they have more and cheaper options in an IRA of their choice. Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity are all fairly popular.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage

For most people: hit 401k match, max IRA, max 401k if possible. It depends on the 401k plan but for most people they have more and cheaper options in an IRA of their choice. Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity are all fairly popular.

Thanks dude. I always thought that was the school of thought for younger investors and not recommended when getting into it late.

[eDave]

What kind of adjustments are you guys contemplating depending on who wins the election?

What will you do if Trump wins?

What will you do if Hillary wins?

(please don't turn this into a DC thing)

On a side note, interest rates have to go up too. Not in Oct. during an election, but definitely by EOY.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by eDave

What kind of adjustments are you guys contemplating depending on who wins the election?

What will you do if Trump wins?

What will you do if Hillary wins?

(please don't turn this into a DC thing)

On a side note, interest rates have to go up too. Not in Oct. during an election, but definitely by EOY.

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't pay attention to politics as it relates to my investments. If prices go down, I buy more. Otherwise I have my normal strategies.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't pay attention to politics as it relates to my investments. If prices go down, I buy more. Otherwise I have my normal strategies.

That makes to total sense. I'm should have clarified it as 401K investments. I don't care who wins really, but I'd like to navigate it correctly. Might just pull it back for a bit and access the sitch.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by eDave

What kind of adjustments are you guys contemplating depending on who wins the election?

What will you do if Trump wins?

What will you do if Hillary wins?

(please don't turn this into a DC thing)

On a side note, interest rates have to go up too. Not in Oct. during an election, but definitely by EOY.

Everybody keeps saying that about the interest rates but I don't see it.

It's a popular position that interest rates HAVE to go up. What boggles my mind is interest rates really fell at 9/11. Which was 15 ****ing years ago. They didn't achieve their epic low for a few years but they've been almost nothin for 15 years.

There isn't inflation. I fail to believe that there will be material changes in the interest rates. I'm probably wrong, but I don't see any reason for them to take off that hasn't existed in the last 15 years.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Everybody keeps saying that but I don't see it.

It's a popular position that interest rates HAVE to go up. What boggles my mind is interest rates really fell at 9/11. Which was 15 ****ing years ago. They didn't achieve their epic low for a few years but they've been almost nothin for 15 years.

There isn't inflation. I fail to believe that there will be material changes in the interest rates. I'm probably wrong, but I don't see any reason for them to take off that hasn't existed in the last 15 years.

The committed to two adjustments per year. One so far this year and the case to increase in Oct was gaining traction after last meeting.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by eDave

The committed to two adjustments per year. One so far this year and the case to increase in Oct was gaining traction after last meeting.

They won't follow through.

They don't want to be the goat if (really, when) the stock market takes a dive after the election.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

They won't follow through.

They don't want to be the goat if (really, when) the stock market takes a dive after the election.

Historically (1900 - 2008), the market has gone up 15% when the incumbent party wins. -4.5% if the incumbent party loses. Overall average is up 7.5 regardless after an election.

Democrat President/Republican Congress has meant an over 21% increase.

[Discuss Thrower]

http://aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com/...rantee-of.html

[lewdog]

Don't change your investments based on who wins. It's largely uncorrelated when calculated for a president's full term. Political parties don't really effect the market. We've had great and bad times with both parties at the helm.