Curious as to how most here handle their investments. Here are the questions:

1) What is your percent stock/bond asset allocation?
2) Do you subscribe to the rule "Your age in bonds"?
3) Trader or buy and holder?
4) Starting out, mid-career, pre-retirement, or retired?

Optional:
a) Best investment decision you ever made.
b) Worst investment decision you ever made.

I'll start out:
1) 52/48
2) Yes, pretty much.
3) Buy and holder.
4) Pre-retirement.

a) Steady small investments over time, regardless of market conditions.
b) Not acting quickly enough when I had some stock options back in the '90s.

AunBear89 said:

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Invest in companies that make the following:
And maybe invest in a bail bond service in the greater DC area - profit off the insurrection on both ends.

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States and jurisdictions are trending away from money bail, so perhaps that's not the best investment.

I know there are quite a few investors on this board. Eager to hear your thoughts on asset allocation. Sometimes we need a break from politics.

I put away the 18 or 19k per year, but I just use the retirement firm my company has. I realized I want someone smarter and more knowledgeable than me to do my investing.

As for the best decision I made, I dont know if I made the right decision in terms of dollars and cents, but I am damn happy that when i got my first job, I saved for my grad school rather than invest. It was only for three years and it allowed me to complete grad school with only $1000 debt on my credit card (which was quickly paid off), it also helped that I chose the cheap grad school option. I appreciate having the freedom from large amounts of debt.

LMK5 said:

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I know there are quite a few investors on this board. Eager to hear your thoughts on asset allocation. Sometimes we need a break from politics.

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My rule is:

If you need to ask what to do, you will get slaughtered trying to invest against people who make it their life to know.

Bottom line, if there is some amazing investment out there, by the time I know about it, too many people already know about it for it to be an amazing investment. Most people who aren't experts who try and time the market end up buying high and selling low.

Don't try to get rich quick. Try to get rich nice and slow. My money is in funds that auto balance based on my estimated retirement date. Started saving very early. Been patient and consistent.

If you know more than me and can beat the market - awesome. Go for it. If you don't know more and try and beat the market - I wish you good luck because luck is what is going to determine how well you do.

My worst investment decision - I didn't realize that banks would take the guardrails off the home mortgage market and unnaturally keep the real estate market raging so I worked on paying off debts leftover from education so that I would be in a nice stable position when I bought a house so that I'd be able to make my house payments whether or not the market went up. Could have made a lot more money had I taken the risk when I had the chance. Of course had it been 2007 when I took that risk, I would have gone bankrupt.

LMK5 said:

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Curious as to how most here handle their investments. Here are the questions:

1) What is your percent stock/bond asset allocation?
2) Do you subscribe to the rule "Your age in bonds"?
3) Trader or buy and holder?
4) Starting out, mid-career, pre-retirement, or retired?

Optional:
a) Best investment decision you ever made.
b) Worst investment decision you ever made.

I'll start out:
1) 52/48
2) Yes, pretty much.
3) Buy and holder.
4) Pre-retirement.

a) Steady small investments over time, regardless of market conditions.
b) Not acting quickly enough when I had some stock options back in the '90s.

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Let me suggest there are a lot of instruments or vehicles out there that may not fall neatly into th debt or equities categories.

Much our wealth is tied up in real estate. That may not be the place to be right now, but it is what it is.
1) 51/49 equities vs debt: thinking about reducing equities in response to Biden (not judging, just think there will be more transparency in just how bad the economy is and the bubble will burst). Note: around 10% in alternative investments.
2) NO. I subscribe to listening to people who do this for a living.
3) See number 2
4) Since with real estate you are never retired, I guess pre-retirement

75% stocks, 25% cash.

LMK5 said:

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Curious as to how most here handle their investments. Here are the questions:

1) What is your percent stock/bond asset allocation?
2) Do you subscribe to the rule "Your age in bonds"?
3) Trader or buy and holder?
4) Starting out, mid-career, pre-retirement, or retired?

Optional:
a) Best investment decision you ever made.
b) Worst investment decision you ever made.

I'll start out:
1) 52/48
2) Yes, pretty much.
3) Buy and holder.
4) Pre-retirement.

a) Steady small investments over time, regardless of market conditions.
b) Not acting quickly enough when I had some stock options back in the '90s.

---

1. Heavily weighted to stock, especially the investments that I make directly. The only straight bonds that I hold are in either time-based funds in my Roth 401(k) accounts and in a trust that my advisor manages. I do from time to time invest in convertible notes. However, a meaningful portion of my investments are in commercial and residential real estate and REITs, so not a straight bond/equity allocation.

2. No. I do carry more than I should in liquid assets, especially money market accounts. More a security blanket than a wise investment decision.

3. Buy and hold. Sometimes I may shift focus of new investments, like in the second half of last year when I deployed a lot of my liquid assets into cyclicals, industrial, and EV based companies, but I have almost never sold any equity in over 25 years of investing.

4. Mostly retired. Serving primarily in advisory role now. I consider working only because I want to as mostly retired.

a. Going heavy in Apple in 2004 when a friend convinced me that Apple was creating hand-held computers and in Google 2006 when I started understanding how they were monetizing data. Investing early and heavy in Danaher, TransDigm and Roper based on operational culture and quality of management.

b. Betting heavy in Exodus in late 1990s (or what was heavy back then when I had very little assets and just started practicing law in Wall Street). Getting in late in Amazon in 2013 instead of when a PM advised me in 2000 that Amazon was not about retail but about selling procurement, capacity and process expertise to third parties. Not investing in Facebook because I hated social media . Investing too little in Roku and Netflix. Not investing early in Tesla because I don't like Musk. Oh, so many lost opportunities.

calbear93 said:

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LMK5 said:

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Curious as to how most here handle their investments. Here are the questions:

1) What is your percent stock/bond asset allocation?
2) Do you subscribe to the rule "Your age in bonds"?
3) Trader or buy and holder?
4) Starting out, mid-career, pre-retirement, or retired?

Optional:
a) Best investment decision you ever made.
b) Worst investment decision you ever made.

I'll start out:
1) 52/48
2) Yes, pretty much.
3) Buy and holder.
4) Pre-retirement.

a) Steady small investments over time, regardless of market conditions.
b) Not acting quickly enough when I had some stock options back in the '90s.

---

1. Heavily weighted to stock, especially the investments that I make directly. The only straight bonds that I hold are in either time-based funds in my Roth 401(k) accounts and in a trust that my advisor manages. I do from time to time invest in convertible notes. However, a meaningful portion of my investments are in commercial and residential real estate and REITs, so not a straight bond/equity allocation.

2. No. I do carry more than I should in liquid assets, especially money market accounts. More a security blanket than a wise investment decision.

3. Buy and hold. Sometimes I may shift focus of new investments, like in the second half of last year when I deployed a lot of my liquid assets into cyclicals, industrial, and EV based companies, but I have almost never sold any equity in over 25 years of investing.

4. Mostly retired. Serving primarily in advisory role now. I consider working only because I want to as mostly retired.

a. Going heavy in Apple in 2004 when a friend convinced me that Apple was creating hand-held computers and in Google 2006 when I started understanding how they were monetizing data. Investing early and heavy in Danaher, TransDigm and Roper based on operational culture and quality of management.

b. Betting heavy in Exodus in late 1990s (or what was heavy back then when I had very little assets and just started practicing law in Wall Street). Getting in late in Amazon in 2013 instead of when a PM advised me in 2000 that Amazon was not about retail but about selling procurement, capacity and process expertise to third parties. Not investing in Facebook because I hated social media . Investing too little in Roku and Netflix. Not investing early in Tesla because I don't like Musk. Oh, so many lost opportunities.

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I have limited investment understanding so I try to invest in cheap indexed ETF's and Mutual funds and I try to stay diversified by using the following allocation:

15% SP-500 Index
8% Large Cap Growth
6% Large Cap Value
6% Large Cap Dividend
7%. Mid Cap Belnd
4% Small Cap Blend
2% REIT
7% Intenational Growth
8% International Blend
3% Emerging Market Large Blend
3% Emerging Market Small Blend
4.5% Fixed Income (3% guarantee)
6% Long Term Bond (>20 years)
18.5% Investmant Grade Bond
2 % High Yield Bond

It has done well but during the last 12 years it is not hard to do well. I have slowly moved to a less volatile allocation as I get closer to retirement.

LMK5 said:

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Curious as to how most here handle their investments. Here are the questions:

1) What is your percent stock/bond asset allocation?
2) Do you subscribe to the rule "Your age in bonds"?
3) Trader or buy and holder?
4) Starting out, mid-career, pre-retirement, or retired?

Optional:
a) Best investment decision you ever made.
b) Worst investment decision you ever made.

I'll start out:
1) 52/48
2) Yes, pretty much.
3) Buy and holder.
4) Pre-retirement.

a) Steady small investments over time, regardless of market conditions.
b) Not acting quickly enough when I had some stock options back in the '90s.

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1) Currently I am pushing over 90% stock and minimal bonds. Not exactly by design but I had to sell some assets for cash for a real estate purchase. I chose to sell the bonds because I don't see much upside for bonds right now.

2) No. I generally aim for about 80 / 20. I could see that changing in the future with even lower bonds. At some point our wealth distribution fiscal policies will unwind and interest rates will go back up at which point bonds will be a very tough investment (when that time comes, stay out of bond mutual funds and buy individual bonds with low / medium duration and roll them into new bonds as interest rates gradually rise. Remember, this bullish bond market has been going for almost 40 years. The bond bear market could last just as long as these things are determined by generation fiscal political trends. You can lose money from bonds. A 50 / 50 allocation is not the capital protection many think it is. But I digress.).

3) I describe myself as buy and hold with very occasional macro-economic trades. I generally trade very generic low fee ETF / mutual fund indexes.

4) Optimistically pre-retirement, more pessimistically, mid-career

a) I bought back into equities in March 2009 missing the bottom by a few days. Sadly my investment funds were very meager at the time having recently paid down extensive student loans and buying a house.

b) Some years ago, after hearing my father-in-law talk about how his father used to do a lot of futures trading I decided to see what that was all about. I had read an article that if El Nino hit, wheat prices would go up so I bought 1 single future on wheat. Well, the El Nino didn't hit until the following year and wheat prices declined and almost instantly I lost more money than I ever intended to put at risk. I quickly closed out and won't be investing in futures again. Crazy risk, which I knew going in, but woah!. An education you pay for.

Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I have never invested in TIPS. First, we are in a nearly 40 year run in which inflation tends to be lower than expectations. The result of that is overperformance by regular Treasuries relative to TIPS.

Second, historically TIPS have responded to severe negative shocks by losing value (2008 and spring 2020). Regular Treasuries respond to negative shocks (risk-off) by raising in value. That's the best time to own regular Treasuries - but with TIPS you historically have lost that upside.

If the 40 year bond bull changes to a long-term bond bear (i.e. rising interest rates) we can expect inflation to exceed expectations. For me, that would be a good time to revisit TIPS as an investment because that would be a natural lift relative to regular Treasuries. I would at least revisit TIPS in that scenario as there is no history with TIPS in that kind of environment.

EDIT - I've been criticized as giving investment advice when I'm merely sharing my opinions or what I am doing. These are my thoughts. You are responsible for your own investments.

LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I don't invest in TIPS, even though I strongly believe that increase in interest rate, devaluation of the dollar and inflation are likely based on monetary policies and deficit spending. The increase in interest rate would be one of the biggest threat to the stock market, and we will see the difference between companies that have managed their balance sheet well and have made smart acquisitions as companies are required to refinance at higher cost. But for long-term investors like me, I focus on continuing to invest in market leaders with good management and consistently solid results that are harder to manipulate (free cash flow, recurring revenue, retention rate, operating margin expansion etc.) and not try to time the market on macroeconomic factors. I may lean heavier in cash in situations like now to be able to deploy on assets on dips, but I am in it for the long run and have no plans to sell even though a correction is inevitable. If I am worried about inflation, investing in assets would seem to be a comparable hedge to TIPS.

I have a private money manager who looks at not only my portfolio but also my goals, my hard asset, my risk tolerance, my tax situation (e.g., putting more investments in my taxable trust that will have less taxable impact and putting more investment that will have more tax liability in my IRAs), what companies I hold in my personal account to ensure I am not overweighed in any industry or companies in the funds that they invest for me. Without a complete picture, I think it would be hard for an entity like Vanguard PAS to make a reasoned recommendation.

dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I have never invested in TIPS. First, we are in a nearly 40 year run in which inflation tends to be lower than expectations. The result of that is overperformance by regular Treasuries relative to TIPS.

Second, historically TIPS have responded to severe negative shocks by losing value (2008 and spring 2020). Regular Treasuries respond to negative shocks (risk-off) by raising in value. That's the best time to own regular Treasuries - but with TIPS you historically have lost that upside.

If the 40 year bond bull changes to a long-term bond bear (i.e. rising interest rates) we can expect inflation to exceed expectations. For me, that would be a good time to revisit TIPS as an investment because that would be a natural lift relative to regular Treasuries. I would at least revisit TIPS in that scenario as there is no history with TIPS in that kind of environment.

EDIT - I've been criticized as giving investment advice when I'm merely sharing my opinions or what I am doing. These are my thoughts. You are responsible for your own investments.

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It is said that TIPS are better for unexpected inflation, and conventional bonds are better for expected inflation.

How do you guys feel about bond mutual funds vs. individual bonds vs. defined maturity bond funds? In the information I have read, there really is no difference between holding a diversified bond index fund and holding an individual bond ladder. Do you subscribe to this? Will bond mutual fund investors regret being in a fund if interest rates go up in a meaningful way, while individual bond holders are resting, assured that they will get full principal back at a known date?

LMK5 said:

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dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I have never invested in TIPS. First, we are in a nearly 40 year run in which inflation tends to be lower than expectations. The result of that is overperformance by regular Treasuries relative to TIPS.

Second, historically TIPS have responded to severe negative shocks by losing value (2008 and spring 2020). Regular Treasuries respond to negative shocks (risk-off) by raising in value. That's the best time to own regular Treasuries - but with TIPS you historically have lost that upside.

If the 40 year bond bull changes to a long-term bond bear (i.e. rising interest rates) we can expect inflation to exceed expectations. For me, that would be a good time to revisit TIPS as an investment because that would be a natural lift relative to regular Treasuries. I would at least revisit TIPS in that scenario as there is no history with TIPS in that kind of environment.

EDIT - I've been criticized as giving investment advice when I'm merely sharing my opinions or what I am doing. These are my thoughts. You are responsible for your own investments.

---

It is said that TIPS are better for unexpected inflation, and conventional bonds are better for expected inflation.

How do you guys feel about bond mutual funds vs. individual bonds vs. defined maturity bond funds? In the information I have read, there really is no difference between holding a diversified bond index fund and holding an individual bond ladder. Do you subscribe to this? Will bond mutual fund investors regret being in a fund if interest rates go up in a meaningful way, while individual bond holders are resting, assured that they will get full principal back at a known date?

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I think you are using fairly vague terms for things that require precision in their meaning. "Diversified" how? By types of bonds or by duration? A bond ladder is essentially a bond fund with diversified duration.

If you have a 30 year individual bond while rates are going up you can get your capital back but only be collecting 1% interest while the market rate is 8% for years. You have still lost a lot of value.

In a rising rate market I would probably look at individual bonds of short / medium duration (ladder or not), if I looked at bonds at all. A fund will lose capital (the longer the duration the bigger the losses).

We haven't been in such an environment for over 40 years and much would have to change in our fiscal policy to get back to such a situation. The current government is not going to trigger such an event, in my opinion.

A 10 year Treasury currently pays about 1% and with strong emotional resistance at 0% there is not a lot of pricing upside. I entered 2020 very heavy in U.S. Treasuries and sold the vast majority in the spring for a big gain. I just don't see an opportunity to do something like that again right now. I also don't see much of a driving force in the opposite direction either.

Edit - I don't have much to say about defined maturity bond funds. Seems interesting as a mix of both worlds - I'll have to read more about them.

dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I have never invested in TIPS. First, we are in a nearly 40 year run in which inflation tends to be lower than expectations. The result of that is overperformance by regular Treasuries relative to TIPS.

Second, historically TIPS have responded to severe negative shocks by losing value (2008 and spring 2020). Regular Treasuries respond to negative shocks (risk-off) by raising in value. That's the best time to own regular Treasuries - but with TIPS you historically have lost that upside.

If the 40 year bond bull changes to a long-term bond bear (i.e. rising interest rates) we can expect inflation to exceed expectations. For me, that would be a good time to revisit TIPS as an investment because that would be a natural lift relative to regular Treasuries. I would at least revisit TIPS in that scenario as there is no history with TIPS in that kind of environment.

EDIT - I've been criticized as giving investment advice when I'm merely sharing my opinions or what I am doing. These are my thoughts. You are responsible for your own investments.

---

It is said that TIPS are better for unexpected inflation, and conventional bonds are better for expected inflation.

How do you guys feel about bond mutual funds vs. individual bonds vs. defined maturity bond funds? In the information I have read, there really is no difference between holding a diversified bond index fund and holding an individual bond ladder. Do you subscribe to this? Will bond mutual fund investors regret being in a fund if interest rates go up in a meaningful way, while individual bond holders are resting, assured that they will get full principal back at a known date?

---

I think you are using fairly vague terms for things that require precision in their meaning. "Diversified" how? By types of bonds or by duration? A bond ladder is essentially a bond fund with diversified duration.

If you have a 30 year individual bond while rates are going up you can get your capital back but only be collecting 1% interest while the market rate is 8% for years. You have still lost a lot of value.

In a rising rate market I would probably look at individual bonds of short / medium duration (ladder or not), if I looked at bonds at all. A fund will lose capital (the longer the duration the bigger the losses).

We haven't been in such an environment for over 40 years and much would have to change in our fiscal policy to get back to such a situation. The current government is not going to trigger such an event, in my opinion.

A 10 year Treasury currently pays about 1% and with strong emotional resistance at 0% there is not a lot of pricing upside. I entered 2020 very heavy in U.S. Treasuries and sold the vast majority in the spring for a big gain. I just don't see an opportunity to do something like that again right now. I also don't see much of a driving force in the opposite direction either.

Edit - I don't have much to say about defined maturity bond funds. Seems interesting as a mix of both worlds - I'll have to read more about them.

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When I say diversified bond fund I'm talking about something like Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND). In a rising interest rate environment, cash is king. Money market funds are the place to be.

Governments can't always control interest rate environments. In the seventies, the Arab oil embargo sparked stagflation.

LMK5 said:

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dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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dajo9 said:

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LMK5 said:

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Great replies here and a great variety of how people invest. I guess that's what makes the markets. Over the past year I have greatly simplified things. I used to have a fair amount of "slice and dice" in my portfolio with junk bonds, REITs, an energy sector fund, and a gold stock fund. I've since moved everything into basic domestic stock, international stock, and bond index funds. The reason I've done this is so that if I get hit by a truck the holdings won't be as bewildering to whomever has to decipher everything.

Anyone here holding TIPS? Why or why not?

Does anyone use a portfolio advisory service such as Vanguard PAS? Do you find it's worth it?

---

I have never invested in TIPS. First, we are in a nearly 40 year run in which inflation tends to be lower than expectations. The result of that is overperformance by regular Treasuries relative to TIPS.

Second, historically TIPS have responded to severe negative shocks by losing value (2008 and spring 2020). Regular Treasuries respond to negative shocks (risk-off) by raising in value. That's the best time to own regular Treasuries - but with TIPS you historically have lost that upside.

If the 40 year bond bull changes to a long-term bond bear (i.e. rising interest rates) we can expect inflation to exceed expectations. For me, that would be a good time to revisit TIPS as an investment because that would be a natural lift relative to regular Treasuries. I would at least revisit TIPS in that scenario as there is no history with TIPS in that kind of environment.

EDIT - I've been criticized as giving investment advice when I'm merely sharing my opinions or what I am doing. These are my thoughts. You are responsible for your own investments.

---

It is said that TIPS are better for unexpected inflation, and conventional bonds are better for expected inflation.

How do you guys feel about bond mutual funds vs. individual bonds vs. defined maturity bond funds? In the information I have read, there really is no difference between holding a diversified bond index fund and holding an individual bond ladder. Do you subscribe to this? Will bond mutual fund investors regret being in a fund if interest rates go up in a meaningful way, while individual bond holders are resting, assured that they will get full principal back at a known date?

---

I think you are using fairly vague terms for things that require precision in their meaning. "Diversified" how? By types of bonds or by duration? A bond ladder is essentially a bond fund with diversified duration.

If you have a 30 year individual bond while rates are going up you can get your capital back but only be collecting 1% interest while the market rate is 8% for years. You have still lost a lot of value.

In a rising rate market I would probably look at individual bonds of short / medium duration (ladder or not), if I looked at bonds at all. A fund will lose capital (the longer the duration the bigger the losses).

We haven't been in such an environment for over 40 years and much would have to change in our fiscal policy to get back to such a situation. The current government is not going to trigger such an event, in my opinion.

A 10 year Treasury currently pays about 1% and with strong emotional resistance at 0% there is not a lot of pricing upside. I entered 2020 very heavy in U.S. Treasuries and sold the vast majority in the spring for a big gain. I just don't see an opportunity to do something like that again right now. I also don't see much of a driving force in the opposite direction either.

Edit - I don't have much to say about defined maturity bond funds. Seems interesting as a mix of both worlds - I'll have to read more about them.

---

When I say diversified bond fund I'm talking about something like Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND). In a rising interest rate environment, cash is king. Money market funds are the place to be.

Governments can't always control interest rate environments. In the seventies, the Arab oil embargo sparked stagflation.

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By that definition, I think there is a huge difference between that kind of diversified bond fund and a ladder of individual bonds.

Governments don't control the interest rate beyond the overnight rate. Private capital markets control the other rates. The argument from Wall Street types that the government is suppressing rates is them unwittingly admitting they don't understand why rates are what they are. I personally wouldn't take investment advice from anybody who said such a thing. Interest rates are low because there is high demand in the private capital markets to buy assets. It's simple supply and demand and I haven't come across the government yet that can defy the laws of supply and demand.

100% Game Stop (GME) jk

I am 75% VanGuard Total Market Stocks, 25% Total Market Bonds on my 401K

and I do have a small trading account where I have been riding the market trends. The current market trends have allowed for some major gains in small cap stocks. Obviously, this works really well in a bull market and can turn when the market turns bearish.

oski003 said:

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100% Game Stop (GME) jk

I am 75% VanGuard Total Market Stocks, 25% Total Market Bonds on my 401K

and I do have a small trading account where I have been riding the market trends. The current market trends have allowed for some major gains in small cap stocks. Obviously, this works really well in a bull market and can turn when the market turns bearish.

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Earlier today I looked at the charts of S&P 500 vs. QQQ vs. IJH vs. VSMAX over the last 10 years and I was astounded at the outperformance of the latter 2 indices.

LMK5 said:

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Earlier today I looked at the charts of S&P 500 vs. QQQ vs. IJH vs. VSMAX over the last 10 years and I was astounded at the outperformance of the latter 2 indices.

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dunno from some of those, but reminds of the trap of chasing a hot whatever right about the time it's over-bought, fwiw

smh said:

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LMK5 said:

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Earlier today I looked at the charts of S&P 500 vs. QQQ vs. IJH vs. VSMAX over the last 10 years and I was astounded at the outperformance of the latter 2 indices.

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dunno from some of those, but reminds of the trap of chasing a hot whatever right about the time it's over-bought, fwiw

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Absolutely. The problem is that a crash can never happen while people are talking about a stock market bubble.

smh said:

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LMK5 said:

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Earlier today I looked at the charts of S&P 500 vs. QQQ vs. IJH vs. VSMAX over the last 10 years and I was astounded at the outperformance of the latter 2 indices.

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dunno from some of those, but reminds of the trap of chasing a hot whatever right about the time it's over-bought, fwiw

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Tell that to DFV haha

Disney, Google, Twitter, Facebook. Even Amazon and Apple. Ain't no lie, baby bye bye bye.

Strong to Very Strong