The man who says he wants to downsize his equity proportion is a bit late out of the starting gate given recent market dives.
Around the time I hit 60 I read a piece suggesting that investment choices should focus on the investor's age & goals more than on what the market is currently doing. I thought that good advice and have stuck to it gradually moving to a somewhat more conservative stance over recent years. That said, I will remain somewhat aggressive through the coming downturn.
It will be interesting to watch the "talking heads" in coming weeks and months. It seems that many who yammer on about a balanced portfolio and the inadvisability of trying to time the market when things are good often toss that advice out in favor of a 'get out of the market' message once the market turns. The original advice is sound. On the bright side, with share prices down, year end pay-outs will provide more bang for the buck.
The U.S. stock market historically has returned 12% per year on average. The best way to invest to retire comfortably is to buy U.S. growth and income (dividend stocks), the so called blue chips. You can build a solid portfolio with 30 U.S. stocks. All other forms of investment, such as fixed income securities which include treasury bonds, corporate bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs) and preferred stocks, deliver a low rate of return that does not even cover inflation and taxes. Real estate and business, usually privately owned, can be good investments, but location is critical, and they can be risky and illiquid (unsellable) at times.
Refrain from using the services of so-called financial advisors because of high cost and ignore all the noise generated daily by the financial experts and the media.
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