U.S. stocks in free fall

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carofe
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by carofe »

FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Maybe just an AI glitch that caused some trading algorithm to sell like crazy. Maybe the AI is actually scanning the investor sentiment in this forum :D
US Total Stock Market + Intermediate Term Bond. That's it.
bo105954027
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by bo105954027 »

FootballFan5548 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:55 pm
Grover wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:46 pmGetting ugly

Yup... just last week I was $4,000 measly dollars away from joining the 2 comma club for the first time. I’d been tracking it closely to see if I’d hit that milestone.
Now I feel much farther away.... bummer
I just celebrated my NW reaching 100K milestone a couple of days ago. Now I have to re-prepare my 100K celebration... again :oops:
Time in market beats timing the market.
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FIREchief
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by FIREchief »

I just scanned Europe and Asia for the past five days. It looks like we may actually be falling a bit slower than the rest of the world. How's that go again? When the US markets catch a cold...…. :confused
I am not a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor. Any advice or suggestions that I may provide shall be considered for entertainment purposes only.
H-Town
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by H-Town »

sperry8 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:22 pm
H-Town wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:24 pm
sperry8 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:17 pm
WhiteMaxima wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:06 pm 3% of drop? It's barely a noise.
Exactly.

Including today, the S&P 500 is up 11.32% in the past year. Who cares what it did along the way. We would all take that 1 year return every year.
Imagine no one would care when they lose the value of a new car on a single trading day... Why would they care right?
You're making an issue of a single day. Do you invest for a single day? When you invested, what sort of return did you expect? If I told you that you would be assured of 11.32% would you have invested?

Now, if you said yes... and then stocks immediately dropped by 50% the next day... but over the course of the next 364 days got to up 11.32% would that make any difference? What if stocks went up 33% the day after you invested and then over the next 364 days stocks dropped and ended "only" up 11.32%. What is the difference? The reality is - stocks are up 11.32% over the past year. I cannot imagine one investor, not one, who wouldn't be happy with that 1 year return. So why care what it did to get there?
Sure. Just wait for it. The market can string together a few bad days and we're down 20% in no time. That's a value of a house for some people.
Time is the ultimate currency.
noviceinvestor85
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by noviceinvestor85 »

I'm in a passive tracker fund with 80% US equities, no exit fees, wondering if I should just exit now...
bighatnohorse
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by bighatnohorse »

I'm going All IN by converting all of our tIRA's and maybe a 457(b) to Roths.
Next year we have SS, pension and annuities kicking in - presently, this will probably be our lowest tax bracket for the foreseeable future...
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FIREchief
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by FIREchief »

noviceinvestor85 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:23 pm I'm in a passive tracker fund with 80% US equities, no exit fees, wondering if I should just exit now...
Sell low??
I am not a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor. Any advice or suggestions that I may provide shall be considered for entertainment purposes only.
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Crushtheturtle
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Crushtheturtle »

noviceinvestor85 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:23 pm I'm in a passive tracker fund with 80% US equities, no exit fees, wondering if I should just exit now...
No, you shouldn't. The market will eventually recover and go on to establish new all-time highs.
- Boglehead meets Daytrader | - The opposite of love is apathy. I apathy the market
WentzWagon
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by WentzWagon »

lukestuckenhymer wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:13 pm
pokebowl wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:04 pm At least we get to reuse our hats? We have that going for us.

Image
always makes me cringe
Who is this guy that is in every yahoo photo
retiringwhen
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by retiringwhen »

noviceinvestor85 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:23 pm I'm in a passive tracker fund with 80% US equities, no exit fees, wondering if I should just exit now...
Can you sleep at night? Can you hold on? If the answer is no, sell enough equities so you will stay IN the market even on dark days...... As Jack said last week, review you AA and ensure you can sleep at night, if you can't, maybe reduce your equities by 10%, but remember the worst thing you can do is leave the market, it is very hard to get back in.

My AA is 65/35 with < 5 years to retirement, and I will stay the course. I know I can sleep at that AA even with a 50% drop (I did it at 85/15 in 2008, and I have been adding bonds for the past 5 years as retirement is getting closer.)
whodatheads
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by whodatheads »

FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Jan 2? Why this date?
bo105954027
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by bo105954027 »

What's sign of a recession around the corner? Increase of unemployment? Decline of house price? Is there any sign showing up right now?
Time in market beats timing the market.
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oldcomputerguy
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by oldcomputerguy »

Esq123 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:22 pm As long as Trump remains president we will be winning.
On the off chance that this post was not intended to be tongue-in-cheek, I would point out that discussion of politics is prohibited here.
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by oldzey »

Happy October!

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MJW
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by MJW »

I've only been a member of the BH forum for a couple of years, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people this antsy.
UpperNwGuy
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by UpperNwGuy »

MJW wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:40 pm I've only been a member of the BH forum for a couple of years, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people this antsy.
The people here tend to get nervous over the smallest things. I'm waiting for the CD and treasury bond bandwagons to get rolling.
Ecorp
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Ecorp »

MJW wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:40 pm I've only been a member of the BH forum for a couple of years, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people this antsy.
Because easily over 50% dont follow the theory or philosophy of Bogle. Notice how many people are buying ,,, why do they have all this extra cash sitting around?
amitb00
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by amitb00 »

I think folks on this board are balanced, calm and take long term view. This thread is the main thread where we discuss falling stock market. Very few folks advise to get out of market. Yes, there is risk and it is not a great feeling riding the market down. But over long term, it will be a blip. Cheer up and few months/years down the road we won’t remember the fall and how scary it is.
Zigma
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Zigma »

tony_roach wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:23 pm OP if it makes you feel better my overall portfolio went down 20K today and I still purchased in my taxable account.
Same here. I lost close to 20K and bought 10K in my taxable and TLH some. :) Soooo happy.
Keep moving on higher ground.
MotoTrojan
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by MotoTrojan »

Woohoo. Congrats to the poster whose name escapes me that said they had buy orders for VTI at $140 and were not buying until they got there.

Wonder if I'll get a chance to TLH my domestic holdings for the first time soon.
FiveSixAce
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by FiveSixAce »

I am 100% equities and will be buying more on Monday on schedule. This is fine, everything is fine :shock:
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FIREchief
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by FIREchief »

whodatheads wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:34 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Jan 2? Why this date?
Many of us with long term Roth conversion strategies execute our annual conversions on the first trading day of each year. We believe that the market goes up more often than it goes down and want to save the conversion taxes that would be paid on any growth between the first trading day and a later day in the year when we might otherwise perform a conversion.
I am not a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor. Any advice or suggestions that I may provide shall be considered for entertainment purposes only.
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digarei
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by digarei »

Year to Date and 6-month Standard and Poor’s 500 remain UP.

If we get a 5 year decline, I shall begin to be annoyed.

Nevertheless, if I’m still accumulating, I shall continue to buy.
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whodatheads
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by whodatheads »

FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:56 pm
whodatheads wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:34 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Jan 2? Why this date?
Many of us with long term Roth conversion strategies execute our annual conversions on the first trading day of each year. We believe that the market goes up more often than it goes down and want to save the conversion taxes that would be paid on any growth between the first trading day and a later day in the year when we might otherwise perform a conversion.
So would the date you convert mover earlier if the market goes down precipitately?
Whakamole
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Whakamole »

FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:20 pm I just scanned Europe and Asia for the past five days. It looks like we may actually be falling a bit slower than the rest of the world. How's that go again? When the US markets catch a cold...…. :confused
VTI (ETF for Total US) is down 2.08%, VXUS (ETF for Total International) is down 1.30%.

Down for >$10K two days in a row now. Now it looks like I may need to rebalance into stocks for the first time :shock:
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FIREchief
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by FIREchief »

whodatheads wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:11 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:56 pm
whodatheads wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:34 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Jan 2? Why this date?
Many of us with long term Roth conversion strategies execute our annual conversions on the first trading day of each year. We believe that the market goes up more often than it goes down and want to save the conversion taxes that would be paid on any growth between the first trading day and a later day in the year when we might otherwise perform a conversion.
So would the date you convert mover earlier if the market goes down precipitately?
I can't move the date for my planned 2019 conversions any earlier than Jan 2. That is the first trading day of 2019. My 2018 conversions were completed on Jan 2 2018.

If the market drops 20% - 30% before the end of this year, I would revisit my long term Roth conversion strategy and decide if I wanted to increase my 2018 conversions into the next tax bracket. It would have no impact on what I plan for 2019.
I am not a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor. Any advice or suggestions that I may provide shall be considered for entertainment purposes only.
noviceinvestor85
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by noviceinvestor85 »

retiringwhen

"Can you sleep at night? Can you hold on? If the answer is no, sell enough equities so you will stay IN the market even on dark days...... As Jack said last week, review you AA and ensure you can sleep at night, if you can't, maybe reduce your equities by 10%, but remember the worst thing you can do is leave the market, it is very hard to get back in."

I can afford to hold on for longer, but not sure how my nerves hold out if it hits 10% or more, might be tempted to [leave --admin LadyGeek] and look to get back in on the way up...
H-Town
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by H-Town »

Ecorp wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:43 pm
MJW wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:40 pm I've only been a member of the BH forum for a couple of years, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people this antsy.
Because easily over 50% dont follow the theory or philosophy of Bogle. Notice how many people are buying ,,, why do they have all this extra cash sitting around?
By cutting down discretionary expenses? Save harder than normal? :twisted:
Time is the ultimate currency.
latesaver
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by latesaver »

bo105954027 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:12 pm
CULater wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:26 pm Just remember this formula:

Y = ((X / (1- X)) * 100%

Y is the percentage gain in your portfolio value needed to recover from percentage loss X.

Loss (%)....... Req'd Gain
5%................... 5.2%
10%................. 11%
15%................. 18%
20%................. 25%
25%................. 33%
30%................. 43%
35%................. 54%
40%................. 67%
45%................. 82%
50%................. 100%

It's a shorter trip to avoid losing money than it is to make money to end up at the same place.
Besides, market climbs up much slower than sliding down. It's frequently seen that market dropped by 3-4% in a day, but hardly did market happen to climb up by 2% in a day. Falls take place easier than Soars. :oops:
The market takes the stairs up and the elevator down.
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Hayden
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Hayden »

carofe wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:16 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Maybe just an AI glitch that caused some trading algorithm to sell like crazy. Maybe the AI is actually scanning the investor sentiment in this forum :D
The algorithms were set to trigger when this thread hit 7900 posts
DrivingFun
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by DrivingFun »

I guess I'm glad vanguard.com glitched on me yesterday trying to exchange from money market into a couple of things. Did it today at what looks to be a decent discount. Sometimes better to be lucky than good. :sharebeer
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by TomatoTomahto »

noviceinvestor85 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:25 pm I can afford to hold on for longer, but not sure how my nerves hold out if it hits 10% or more, might be tempted to [leave --admin LadyGeek] and look to get back in on the way up...
Many old timers on this forum know of people who felt as you do, and who never could get it together to "get back in on the way up." Then they waited for a correction. Then they got scared. Just don't. Simple. Just don't.

I'll assume that the typo in the quote was inadvertent, but it's funny :D
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by TomatoTomahto »

For reasons having nothing to do with timing the market (selling our old house and waiting for the closing), we will have a good deal of cash in a month or two. I feel a bit like a kid whose allowance is coming in just as a favorite video game is going on sale.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
azanon
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by azanon »

noviceinvestor85 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:25 pm retiringwhen

"Can you sleep at night? Can you hold on? If the answer is no, sell enough equities so you will stay IN the market even on dark days...... As Jack said last week, review you AA and ensure you can sleep at night, if you can't, maybe reduce your equities by 10%, but remember the worst thing you can do is leave the market, it is very hard to get back in."

I can afford to hold on for longer, but not sure how my nerves hold out if it hits 10% or more, might be tempted to jump shit and look to get back in on the way up...
What would your stock/bond allocation have to be, for you to see no need to even monitor what's going on day-to-day, other than to occasionally rebalance? That's the allocation I'd recommend you go to. Regardless of your age, if you're not willing to hold a certain portfolio under all circumstances, then there's no reason to have it in the first place.

Or to say it another way, what would it need to be for you to just be following this thread for fun (like I am)? There are some that can have 100% stock allocation, and still be entertained/not phased by what's happening. Me? I need a LOT less stock to do the same thing, and so I have a lot less stock. My losses so far both days are 0.xx%, for example.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Hayden wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:31 pm
carofe wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:16 pm
FIREchief wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:09 pm
RetireBy55 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:01 pm Anyone have a hypothesis as to what in the world is causing the drop this week?
One word answer: "fear"

I'm hoping for continued "fear" through December so that my Roth conversions on Jan 2 will be at discount rates.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a drop. "Heavy noise" would be more like it.... 8-)
Maybe just an AI glitch that caused some trading algorithm to sell like crazy. Maybe the AI is actually scanning the investor sentiment in this forum :D
The algorithms were set to trigger when this thread hit 7900 posts
As sensible as any explanation that I have seen posted. I'm on-board with that theory!

And "wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!"
pejp
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by pejp »

This place is obviously working on me. I'm 95% US Equities, 35 years old so I've got a fairly long time until retirement, so I'm actually enjoying this. I wouldn't have been saying that a few years ago :D
myself11
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by myself11 »

Question please: with the US Stock Market in free fall I need an advice as I I am planning to liquidate what would be equivalent to $150,000 from my Vanguard portfolio as a downpayment to a new house. I built that Vanguard portfolio earlier this year and I paid for the stocks when they were in their peak price. I already lost quite a bit in the past few days. The portfolio is 80 ETFs and 20 bonds. Any recommendations on what would be the best strategy to sell, in order to suffer minimum possible loss. Should I sell bonds only or any other mix?? Thanks a lot.
azanon
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by azanon »

pejp wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:45 pm This place is obviously working on me. I'm 95% US Equities, 35 years old so I've got a fairly long time until retirement, so I'm actually enjoying this. I wouldn't have been saying that a few years ago :D
At that age (and certainly younger) you actually want them to go down so you can buy more shares cheap. When you want the run-up, is the last 10 years or so :)
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sperry8
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by sperry8 »

H-Town wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:23 pm
sperry8 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:22 pm
H-Town wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:24 pm
sperry8 wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:17 pm
WhiteMaxima wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:06 pm 3% of drop? It's barely a noise.
Exactly.

Including today, the S&P 500 is up 11.32% in the past year. Who cares what it did along the way. We would all take that 1 year return every year.
Imagine no one would care when they lose the value of a new car on a single trading day... Why would they care right?
You're making an issue of a single day. Do you invest for a single day? When you invested, what sort of return did you expect? If I told you that you would be assured of 11.32% would you have invested?

Now, if you said yes... and then stocks immediately dropped by 50% the next day... but over the course of the next 364 days got to up 11.32% would that make any difference? What if stocks went up 33% the day after you invested and then over the next 364 days stocks dropped and ended "only" up 11.32%. What is the difference? The reality is - stocks are up 11.32% over the past year. I cannot imagine one investor, not one, who wouldn't be happy with that 1 year return. So why care what it did to get there?
Sure. Just wait for it. The market can string together a few bad days and we're down 20% in no time. That's a value of a house for some people.
It can. It has. My point is so what? In the Fall of 09 it fell like that. But if you knew it would be up 300+% since then - would you invest? Of course. You keep focusing on very short time gyrations which are impossible to predict. But long term the market moves on earnings growth, dividend yield, and the multiple people are willing to pay for them (P/E). If you are unable to tolerate short term gyrations of +/-20% then the stock market is not for you. Get out. But if you can tolerate them (in other words accept risk) then you have a high likelihood of getting better returns than almost every other asset class.
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sperry8
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by sperry8 »

myself11 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:47 pm Question please: with the US Stock Market in free fall I need an advice as I I am planning to liquidate what would be equivalent to $150,000 from my Vanguard portfolio as a downpayment to a new house. I built that Vanguard portfolio earlier this year and I paid for the stocks when they were in their peak price. I already lost quite a bit in the past few days. The portfolio is 80 ETFs and 20 bonds. Any recommendations on what would be the best strategy to sell, in order to suffer minimum possible loss. Should I sell bonds only or any other mix?? Thanks a lot.
You can select exactly the stocks/funds you want to sell and use your losses against your gains on your taxes.
BH Contests: 23 #89 of 607 | 22 #512 of 674 | 21 #66 of 636 |20 #253/664 |19 #233/645 |18 #150/493 |17 #516/647 |16 #121/610 |15 #18/552 |14 #225/503 |13 #383/433 |12 #366/410 |11 #113/369 |10 #53/282
reginekierkegaard
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by reginekierkegaard »

pejp wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:45 pm This place is obviously working on me. I'm 95% US Equities, 35 years old so I've got a fairly long time until retirement, so I'm actually enjoying this. I wouldn't have been saying that a few years ago :D
Similar situation but I am 25pc in US, 25pc EM, 25 pc Europe and 25 pc Asia Pacific including Japan. EM is now a war zone. Pacific and European stocks r at correction level but may approach bear market. I aim to adopt a value averaging approach until next April n then reassess the situation. Buying dips regularly on each month and Hodl
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Darth Xanadu
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Darth Xanadu »

Simply bleeding cash. :annoyed

Edit: But, refreshingly indifferent about it :beer
Walkure
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Walkure »

WentzWagon wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:32 pm Who is this guy that is in every yahoo photo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tuchman
Yellowhouse
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Yellowhouse »

I'm in it for the long haul...probably the next 17 years at least. However, losing 12k-14k in two days is a bitter pill to swallow. I'm hoping we have a nice rally tomorrow and obviously hoping it can carry into next week!!
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Blimpalot
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Blimpalot »

myself11 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:47 pm Question please: with the US Stock Market in free fall I need an advice as I I am planning to liquidate what would be equivalent to $150,000 from my Vanguard portfolio as a downpayment to a new house. I built that Vanguard portfolio earlier this year and I paid for the stocks when they were in their peak price. I already lost quite a bit in the past few days. The portfolio is 80 ETFs and 20 bonds. Any recommendations on what would be the best strategy to sell, in order to suffer minimum possible loss. Should I sell bonds only or any other mix?? Thanks a lot.
When you made your investments in stocks earlier this year did you know you were going to be needing to sell stock for a house purchase this year? If so, were you aware of the frequently given advice not to have any money in stocks that you might need in the short term for something like a house downpayment, emergency fund, or college? If you were aware of that advice, what was your reasoning in choosing not to follow it and are you now regretting that decision? I'm not trying to bust your chops; I'm just trying to figure out why you would have money in stocks that you knew you would need in the short term. Personal finance is, after all, personal, and you may have had very good reasons for going against the conventional wisdom. I'm just not smart enough to think of any on my own.
"Nothing I see can be taken from me."--Tom Marshall
Kompass
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by Kompass »

I guess this last 10 days or so of procrastination worked out. I was hitting a 5% rebalance band and spent all week not getting around to it.

Now I don't have to do it at all! :oops:

Should be fun watching NBR tonight to see what explanations have been cooked up.

This is where my big fluffy layer of cash doesn't look so silly, keeps me warm and sleeping at night. :beer
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CULater
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by CULater »

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On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.
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ray.james
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by ray.james »

A few thoughts on how I handle emotions during these times if it helps others.
In 2015 I did have mild jitters when I saw 1K+ losses all my accounts combined. So I formulated new strategy. Quarterly, when I update the spread sheet, I also note panic points which are 40-50% of account balances of stock accounts etc.,. I remember these low numbers possible in my mind. So now, I know the possible numbers during recession in my mind which makes me psychologically numb to minor srops. Focusing on the drop value like 5k/10K/20K in a day raises anxiety for no reason. Thinking in percentage and max drop balance is behaviorally better for me.
When in doubt, http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=79939
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CULater
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by CULater »

It seems like just a few days ago, my TSM was up 10% for the year. Now, not so much.
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monito
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Re: U.S. stocks in freefall

Post by monito »

Ecorp wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:43 pm
MJW wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:40 pm I've only been a member of the BH forum for a couple of years, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people this antsy.
Because easily over 50% dont follow the theory or philosophy of Bogle. Notice how many people are buying ,,, why do they have all this extra cash sitting around?
And for a second I was thinking, "argh, it'd have been nice to have extra $ to invest!" I buy when I have the funds regardless of how the markets are doing. You made a good point.
I'm always tempted to use some of my emergency money on RBD, but had I done that yesterday I'd find myself wondering if I should do it again today (market further down) and when I run out of it and theoretically market is still going down? I'd say that's the whole point of making a plan IN ADVANCE. As recommended better not to put resources that could be necessary.
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