Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

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thelateinvestor43
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Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
stlutz
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by stlutz »

I like the Graham and Dodd recommendation to always have at least 25% bonds and at least 25% stocks.
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

stlutz wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:00 am I like the Graham and Dodd recommendation to always have at least 25% bonds and at least 25% stocks.
Lol doesn't that only add up to 50%? :beer
HomeStretch
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by HomeStretch »

Asset allocation is a personal decision. If you aren’t comfortable with 100% equity, then hold some % in bonds.
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CalculatedRisk
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by CalculatedRisk »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!
Do what you’re comfortable with. If that is 70-30 stocks/bonds, then do that. However, you need to provide more info to get sound advice. What is your age? Income? Other retirement savings?
bayview
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by bayview »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
Is the Roth IRA your only investment account? Do you have a 401k, taxable account, etc?

The recommendation to diversify is across all your accounts. All my Roth investments are equity, but I have fixed income (and additional equity) in my TSP (Federal employee equivalent of 401k.)
The continuous execution of a sound strategy gives you the benefit of the strategy. That's what it's all about. --Rick Ferri
krb
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
Depends on a lot of things but mostly two things - when do you need the money and what is your risk tolerance? Over the long haul nothing outperforms equities and probably the best exposure would be a broad market low cost index fund (VTSAX). But over the short haul - equities are volatile. If you need the money in under 5 years, none of it should be in equities. If you don't need it for at least 15-20 years in general it should be in equities. People on this website are conservative and will usually not recommend 100% but if you don't need it for 15-20 years your best return should be in all equities. To my understanding there has NEVER been a 20 year period in the history of the stock market where the market ended lower after 20 years than it started. I think there were only 1 or 2 times in history where it ended lower 15 years after it started. So if that is your time frame you should be safe.

The next question though is what is your risk tolerance. There is a real chance your money could go down 50% over that time. If you think you would freak out and sell you should not be in a lot of equity. you need to stay cool as the market will nearly certainly return where it was and make up the loss over a period of time. If your equities decrease 50% and you are comfortable with that and stay in you should be in mostly equities. If you know you and you think you will freak out and lock in the loss, you should be in something with less volatility.

So it seems to me the only two questions you have to ask are - when do I need the money and what is my risk tolerance? Personally I just turned 50 and am in 90% equities and 10% bonds and I think everyone here will think I am crazy and should be more balanced. My goal and anticipation and hope is to be able to work for another 20 years though before I have to start pulling money out of retirement, so probably the next year or two I will drop down to 80-20 then 70-30.

Don't forget inflation is going to eat away all your money. So if you are 30 it is more risky to be in all bonds as you are certain to have a very modest asset appreciation against inflation. There are risks of being too conservative as well as risks of being too risky. Someone said more money has been lost preparing for a bear market than has been lost in a bear market.
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

krb wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:18 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
Depends on a lot of things but mostly two things - when do you need the money and what is your risk tolerance? Over the long haul nothing outperforms equities and probably the best exposure would be a broad market low cost index fund (VTSAX). But over the short haul - equities are volatile. If you need the money in under 5 years, none of it should be in equities. If you don't need it for at least 15-20 years in general it should be in equities. People on this website are conservative and will usually not recommend 100% but if you don't need it for 15-20 years your best return should be in all equities. To my understanding there has NEVER been a 20 year period in the history of the stock market where the market ended lower after 20 years than it started. I think there were only 1 or 2 times in history where it ended lower 15 years after it started. So if that is your time frame you should be safe.

The next question though is what is your risk tolerance. There is a real chance your money could go down 50% over that time. If you think you would freak out and sell you should not be in a lot of equity. you need to stay cool as the market will nearly certainly return where it was and make up the loss over a period of time. If your equities decrease 50% and you are comfortable with that and stay in you should be in mostly equities. If you know you and you think you will freak out and lock in the loss, you should be in something with less volatility.

So it seems to me the only two questions you have to ask are - when do I need the money and what is my risk tolerance? Personally I just turned 50 and am in 90% equities and 10% bonds and I think everyone here will think I am crazy and should be more balanced. My goal and anticipation and hope is to be able to work for another 20 years though before I have to start pulling money out of retirement, so probably the next year or two I will drop down to 80-20 then 70-30.

Don't forget inflation is going to eat away all your money. So if you are 30 it is more risky to be in all bonds as you are certain to have a very modest asset appreciation against inflation. There are risks of being too conservative as well as risks of being too risky. Someone said more money has been lost preparing for a bear market than has been lost in a bear market.
im 46 thanks. Just started my Roth with $6k, although $5k is not yet assigned to anything. im gonna start an 401k which i should've started 10 or 20 years ago.
smectym
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by smectym »

Having held a conservative portfolio with only about 40% stocks over the past decade I guess we “underperformed” a 100% equity allocation by quite a bit. Ouch.

But we’re not changing our portfolio allocation. Will I say “ouch” again in 2029? Who can tell?
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Valuethinker »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
I will go with many investors that one should never be more than 75 stocks/ 25 bonds or 25 bonds/ 75 stocks. Within those limits.

I think you could make that 80%/ 20%.

Your bonds will not have great returns - right now c 2% pa. But when equity markets are in one of their periodic tailspins (down 35% 2000-03, down nearly 50% 2008-09) it will help most people keep their nerve, and rebalance into an asset class that is melting down.

You have a relatively short time to make up a deep hole. But you can do it, if you save diligently (I am thinking something like 30% of gross pre tax income). Just beware that at times it will feel pretty awful, as falling markets wipe out a year's savings - snap, just like that.

But there will also be years when rising markets mean you made more than you earn in that year. That's comfortable.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Wiggums »

HomeStretch wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:13 am Asset allocation is a personal decision. If you aren’t comfortable with 100% equity, then hold some % in bonds.
+1

What other investments do you have?
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by pharmermummles »

The reason people may have recommended that you don't worry about bonds yet is that it probably complicates the portfolio more than you need to with only $6K invested. Just starting out, the actual difference in nominal terms, even in the event of a significant drawdown is going to be pretty small. If you want to just pick an asset allocation of 70-100% TSM and 0-30% Total Bond, and set up automatic rebalancing, that is fine too. The reason I and others suggest a higher equity allocation is that investing is about the need, willingness, and ability to take on risk. At your age, with $6K invested, your need for growth associated with risk is absolutely there. You have some ability to take on risk granted this is money you can safely put away for ~20 years (i.e. make sure you have a comfortable emergency fund). Only you can speak to your willingness to take on risk. As others have stated, it is key that you pick something that is comfortable for you so that you don't panic when things decline (and they will), but in your situation, I would very much avoid a conservative 30 or 50% equity allocation if you can at all stomach more risk.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by dbr »

I would not pay attention to people saying you "should" have this investment or that investment. Where the "should" comes in is understanding the consequences to you of what your asset allocation is and how that matches what you want. The dimensions of the issue are what range of return do you want to expect and how much uncertainty in that can you tolerate. Go look at the output of models like FireCalc at different asset allocations to see what the range of possible outcomes can look like.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by longinvest »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
There's simply no need for young investors (or older ones) to put 100% of their portfolio into stocks.

Actually, if they just spend a little less and invest their money into a boring low-cost globally-diversified balanced* index portfolio, they'll be able to retire with dignity thanks to the amazing mathematics of retirement investing.

* Like a 60/40 stocks/bonds portfolio.

Good luck!
Variable Percentage Withdrawal (bogleheads.org/wiki/VPW) | One-Fund Portfolio (bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=287967)
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by nisiprius »

I've just added a page to the Bogleheads' wiki, Graham 75-25 rule, quoting the advice given by Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett's mentor, in his book for laypeople, The Intelligent Investor.

The advice can be summarized, in Graham's own words, as:
the investor should never have less than 25% or more than 75% of his funds in common stocks.
The wiki page includes more context.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by kevinf »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund...
Your Roth is tax-free growth which is why you are hearing these recommendations. The idea is to keep tax-inefficient assets or high-growth assets in the Roth. So 100% equities for growth in the Roth and something like a tax-exempt Municipal bond fund in your taxable brokerage to balance your asset allocation would be very workable.

For reference, I have my Roth filled with VTSAX (total stock index) and my taxable with VPAIX (PA Municipal bond fund) in roughly a 95%/5% AA.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by dbr »

kevinf wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:27 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund...
Your Roth is tax-free growth which is why you are hearing these recommendations. The idea is to keep tax-inefficient assets or high-growth assets in the Roth. So 100% equities for growth in the Roth and something like a tax-exempt Municipal bond fund in your taxable brokerage to balance your asset allocation would be very workable.

For reference, I have my Roth filled with VTSAX (total stock index) and my taxable with VPAIX (PA Municipal bond fund) in roughly a 95%/5% AA.
Exactly. But the confusion, if there is any, is that it is a different question what the overall asset allocation should be. People are correctly advising that 100% stock may not be the best idea. When you combine that with the only account being that Roth and the only fund being FSKAX, you end up with sort of crossed over advice. It is unlikely that over time the only account will be the Roth. However, eventually getting the right asset allocation trumps keeping the Roth all stocks.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by dogagility »

I suggest reading the Bogleheads Guide to Investing, rather than any of the Dummies books on investing. After doing this, you will be able to answer the question.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

The risk of being too much in stocks is the market can go down and on paper you lose substantial value. If you don’t sell you haven’t actually lost anything and so far the market has always gone up after a crash by more than when it went down. So your risk of 100% equities is that. If you have a long time where you don’t need the money, the risk is I think small. If you have 20 years before you need it for example, the risk of the market ending up lower than it began historically so far is zero (to the best of my knowledge).

The risk of being too little in stocks is inflation. The value of your money decreases year after year based on inflation. If you are in cash or money market inflation is outpacing you. If you are in bonds, for the most part, you are only a little ahead of inflation. So if you are too heavy in bonds my understanding is you are certain to lose to inflation (or at least not to get ahead).

The critical thing if you are in stocks is to appreciate the first paragraph, don’t put any money in stocks that you need in the immediate future, and anticipate a gut-wrenching crash. When the crash happens, don’t sell! Then you lock in your losses! For you to be in stocks means you have to expect this will happen and not freak out.

In considering how much you will need to retire, $6k is not very much. So whatever decision you make it won’t make you or break you. I know everyone here will think I’m crazy but I’m 90/10. I plan with G-d’s strength to work until 70 at least (and hopefully more) and to make enough at least to cover my expenses. So I’m hoping that I won’t need my investment assets for at least 20 years and I am starting to build up bonds but am definitely top heavy in equities. Don’t forget when you retire you can’t be 100% in bonds either - that’s just barely outpacing inflation. When you retire hopefully you will still be around 20 years later so you still need equities at risk in your portfolio.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

dogagility wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:50 am I suggest reading the Bogleheads Guide to Investing, rather than any of the Dummies books on investing. After doing this, you will be able to answer the question.
There are a LOT of introductory books on investing. Personally I didn’t read Bogleheads, but I did read several others (of which probably everyone here read) and they all say the same thing. Don’t overspend. Save as much as you can. Understand the difference between bonds and stocks. Reward is proportional with risk. Bonds are less risky and less rewardy. Stocks are the opposite. Money you need in the near future goes in short-term safe investments. Money you need later goes in stocks.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:56 am
krb wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:18 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
Depends on a lot of things but mostly two things - when do you need the money and what is your risk tolerance? Over the long haul nothing outperforms equities and probably the best exposure would be a broad market low cost index fund (VTSAX). But over the short haul - equities are volatile. If you need the money in under 5 years, none of it should be in equities. If you don't need it for at least 15-20 years in general it should be in equities. People on this website are conservative and will usually not recommend 100% but if you don't need it for 15-20 years your best return should be in all equities. To my understanding there has NEVER been a 20 year period in the history of the stock market where the market ended lower after 20 years than it started. I think there were only 1 or 2 times in history where it ended lower 15 years after it started. So if that is your time frame you should be safe.

The next question though is what is your risk tolerance. There is a real chance your money could go down 50% over that time. If you think you would freak out and sell you should not be in a lot of equity. you need to stay cool as the market will nearly certainly return where it was and make up the loss over a period of time. If your equities decrease 50% and you are comfortable with that and stay in you should be in mostly equities. If you know you and you think you will freak out and lock in the loss, you should be in something with less volatility.

So it seems to me the only two questions you have to ask are - when do I need the money and what is my risk tolerance? Personally I just turned 50 and am in 90% equities and 10% bonds and I think everyone here will think I am crazy and should be more balanced. My goal and anticipation and hope is to be able to work for another 20 years though before I have to start pulling money out of retirement, so probably the next year or two I will drop down to 80-20 then 70-30.

Don't forget inflation is going to eat away all your money. So if you are 30 it is more risky to be in all bonds as you are certain to have a very modest asset appreciation against inflation. There are risks of being too conservative as well as risks of being too risky. Someone said more money has been lost preparing for a bear market than has been lost in a bear market.
im 46 thanks. Just started my Roth with $6k, although $5k is not yet assigned to anything. im gonna start an 401k which i should've started 10 or 20 years ago.
There is a wiki on the homepage you should read that says the order you should be investing. It is not magic. Just logical.

Obviously pay off all credit card debt first. Then for nearly everyone pay off all other non-mortgage debt where you are paying nontrivial interest (ie student loans). After that if your company matches money, max out your 401K. The rest of the order depends. Roth or 401K. If you think your taxes are lower now than they will be in the future (eg if you are a medical resident planning on becoming a neurosurgeon) max out your Roth not your 401K. If you think your taxes will be lower in the future and are higher now max out your 401K. Only after Roth and retirement accounts have been maxed out - for most people - invest in after tax account.

I think I'm getting it right. Read the wiki.
If I were 46 and didn't need the money for at least 20 years I'd be 100% in VTSAX. People here are more conservative though and will tell you the ROI isn't that much lower doing 80-20 but it's like 1% lower. Which would kill all of us if we were paying that to an advisor year after year.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

smectym wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 3:08 am Having held a conservative portfolio with only about 40% stocks over the past decade I guess we “underperformed” a 100% equity allocation by quite a bit. Ouch.

But we’re not changing our portfolio allocation. Will I say “ouch” again in 2029? Who can tell?
Depends how old you are. In 10 years who knows? The market goes up and down. In 20 years you would say ouch of course because equities outperform bonds over long periods of time. If you are young you will say ouch. If you are old like me you will probably be in the ER with angina when the market drops 40% at some point over the next 20 years! You pick your poison... angina from underperforming or angina from dropping 40%!
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

dogagility wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:50 am I suggest reading the Bogleheads Guide to Investing, rather than any of the Dummies books on investing. After doing this, you will be able to answer the question.
Just curious - I skimmed over Bogleheads but didn't read it. I read either Dummies or idiots or both for investing and personal finance as well as a few others - they all say the same thing to my mind. But why do you recommend Bogleheads instead of one of the others? What did you get out of it? Just curious. At some point I stopped reading the books because they all say the same...
spend under your means
save as much as you can
invest in equities for long term needs and bonds/similar instruments for short term needs
don't panic
if you're going to panic decrease your equity exposure
etc.
software
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by software »

I'm currently 100% invested in equities (full portfolio holdings documented here https://investwemust.com/portfolio/detail). This isn't the right allocation for everyone (or even most people) and has more to do with your investing temperment and time until retirement than it does with the amount you have invested.
krb
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

longinvest wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:43 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
There's simply no need for young investors (or older ones) to put 100% of their portfolio into stocks.

Actually, if they just spend a little less and invest their money into a boring low-cost globally-diversified balanced* index portfolio, they'll be able to retire with dignity thanks to the amazing mathematics of retirement investing.

* Like a 60/40 stocks/bonds portfolio.

Good luck!
I just looked up the "biggest regrets in investing" thread... a bunch of people regretted not being 100% in stocks in their 20's and 30's when they wouldn't need the money for many decades. Just sayin'
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

software wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:38 pm I'm currently 100% invested in equities (full portfolio holdings documented here https://investwemust.com/portfolio/detail). This isn't the right allocation for everyone (or even most people) and has more to do with your investing temperment and time until retirement than it does with the amount you have invested.
+1. If you won't need the money for 20 years it seems to me you SHOULD be 100% equities.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by retired@50 »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
Investing shouldn't be scary. If you invest too aggressively, you may sell everything and run away during a market downturn. This outcome should be avoided. If adding some bonds to your account will make you more comfortable, then do that.

The general notion that using ONLY stocks in a Roth IRA is the appropriate way to invest doesn't eliminate your desire for some safety. If the Roth IRA is the only account you have, then it has to contain what you deem to be an acceptable mix of stocks and bonds.

Regards,
If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. -George Orwell
mortfree
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by mortfree »

World record for number of threads started goes to.....

I like VBIAX (Vanguard balanced fund 60:40) in my roth account now. Age 42.

6k last year, 6k in 2020.

I also have an old Roth that is probably 80:20 with individual stocks, a few sector ETFs and Wellesley to balance that out.
Mid-40’s
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

Ok, so I have my first $6k in my Roth IRA and had put $1k only so far into the FSKAX Total Market which bought me 11.8 shares. Tonight I purchased $1200 worth of an International Fund to give me 20% allocation to International Equity. I purchased the FSPSX International Index Fund.

I'm most likely going to add the remainder tomorrow to the FSKAX. I realize I don't have any bonds yet, but may add that when I open my brokerage at Fidelity in a few days. The Bond Index fund should NOT go in the ROTH right?

How am I doing?
Outer Marker
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Outer Marker »

As to asset allocation, I would take a good look at Vanguard's model portfolio allocations and expected returns. You'll notice that the ride is a lot smoother at 70/30 than 100/0 without giving up a lot of return. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insigh ... ns?lang=en

Just starting out, I'd pick one of the Vanguard Target Retirement funds appropriate to your age and put everything in that across all tax advantaged accounts. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-fu ... etirement/#/ As it grows and if you need to get fancy to create more tax advantaged space for bonds, you can re-arrange things within the portfolio with no tax consequences. This keeps things super simple and ensures you have all the basic food groups at Vanguard's recommended daily allowance. How much you save is the most important thing right now....
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

To me it's a little more fun right now doing separate funds to kind of see what each one does. I only have $6k in there so I'm not risking a lot. Well I mean $6k is a lot really though.

I just added a Fidelity Reit FSRNX for 10%. It won't go through until Monday I think.

So I've got

10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Is the FHIGX Municipal Bond Fund (Fidelity) good? Would that be suitable for going in a taxable with money I don't want to invest yet?
If I live in Maine, is that free from my State tax?

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
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dogagility
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by dogagility »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am So I've got
10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
Having the "experimenting" mentality for investing will be detrimental to your investment return. It will lead to chasing past performance, buying high and selling low.

If you haven't yet, please read the Bogleheads wiki starting here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

FSDAX is a poor choice due to being concentrated in a small sector of the economy and having a high expense ratio fee (0.75%). Ditto for FOCPX.

Stick with low cost, diversified total stock market index funds for the equity portion of your portfolio. Then, stay the course.
Make sure you check out my list of certifications. The list is short, and there aren't any. - Eric 0. from SMA
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

dogagility wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:40 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am So I've got
10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
Having the "experimenting" mentality for investing will be detrimental to your investment return. It will lead to chasing past performance, buying high and selling low.

If you haven't yet, please read the Bogleheads wiki starting here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

FSDAX is a poor choice due to being concentrated in a small sector of the economy and having a high expense ratio fee (0.75%). Ditto for FOCPX.

Stick with low cost, diversified total stock market index funds for the equity portion of your portfolio. Then, stay the course.
Doesn't FOCPX also have a high ER though? .89%?

I did an "attempt to cancel" on Fidelity. I only allotted $1500 to FSDAX, hopefully they'll cancel it.
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KingRiggs
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by KingRiggs »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:20 am
dogagility wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:40 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am So I've got
10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
Having the "experimenting" mentality for investing will be detrimental to your investment return. It will lead to chasing past performance, buying high and selling low.

If you haven't yet, please read the Bogleheads wiki starting here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

FSDAX is a poor choice due to being concentrated in a small sector of the economy and having a high expense ratio fee (0.75%). Ditto for FOCPX.

Stick with low cost, diversified total stock market index funds for the equity portion of your portfolio. Then, stay the course.
Doesn't FOCPX also have a high ER though? .89%?

I did an "attempt to cancel" on Fidelity. I only allotted $1500 to FSDAX, hopefully they'll cancel it.
You can buy and sell in your Roth without tax consequences, so if you have buyer’s remorse about a fund, you can get out of it easily.

HOWEVER, it would seem that your Investing For Dummies has left you confused and flitting from one idea to another. For the final time, PLEASE watch the Getting Started videos on Bogleheads, PLEASE read the Wiki on Bogleheads, and PLEASE educate yourself further before you invest ANY of your inheritance in a taxable account.

You don’t seem to be able to do any of those steps. Without them, I predict a rocky road for you.

Best of luck.
Advice = noun | Advise = verb | | Roth, not ROTH | | "Remember, there's always money in the banana stand." - George Bluth, Sr.
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Wiggums
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Wiggums »

I am not sure how you are picking those funds. Why not stick yo the three fund portfolio?
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."
pharmermummles
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by pharmermummles »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am To me it's a little more fun right now doing separate funds to kind of see what each one does. I only have $6k in there so I'm not risking a lot. Well I mean $6k is a lot really though.

I just added a Fidelity Reit FSRNX for 10%. It won't go through until Monday I think.

So I've got

10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Is the FHIGX Municipal Bond Fund (Fidelity) good? Would that be suitable for going in a taxable with money I don't want to invest yet?
If I live in Maine, is that free from my State tax?

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
I'd like to point out that you've been getting a lot of blanket advice that may not actually be ideal for you. The decision to hold municipal bonds in a taxable brokerage is a common one, but it really depends on your tax bracket to determine if it is worth it, since munis generally yield less than general bond funds. It is not uncommon for people to hold their bonds in a tax-advantaged account since they are so tax inefficient. I may have missed it, but did you happen to mention your expected tax bracket now and over the next 20 or so years until retirement?
Triple digit golfer
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Triple digit golfer »

I saw and read your other post. Essentially you are starting from zero and seem very unsure of yourself. Because of that, I would use a Target date fund and call it a day. They are highly diversified, all in one funds meant for investors who don't want to have to think about future allocations or rebalancing. Your only job is to invest in it! That's it.

Those giving advice of all money in a stock fund at this point aren't telling you to be 100% stocks forever. They're saying that if you only have $6,000 invested, it frankly doesn't matter a whole lot what that money is invested in. Get it invested, keep investing, and when you have a higher balance, then move some into bonds or wherever else your desired allocation is.

Far and away the most important thing is simply to invest. My dad retired last year with 100% of his portfolio in a Fidelity target date fund in his 401k. He knew very little about investing and simply said he didn't want to think about how to invest and didn't want to pay anybody to do it for him. That's who the target date funds are for. He invested every pay period for 30 years. Prior to the coming of target date funds in the last couple decades, he was in a hodgepodge of stock funds.

Good luck to you! Invest and keep investing!
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

I Just opened my brokerage account. I want to put the money or some in there in an emergency fund instead of leaving it all in the 0.05% savings. I'm trying to decide if a bond fund is the way to go to hold an emergency fund?

A money market fund is low risk, but only returns under 2% .

What about this fund for my taxable?
AFTFX American Funds Tax-Exempt Bond Fund® Class F1

ER is .63 and minimum is $250.00

For my ROTH I have
Total index
International

People keep telling me to read the wiki. I've already read it! It says to select 3 funds or even more. A total market, an international market and a bond I believe. That's what Bogle recommended. But remember that its not the ONLY way. Maybe I want to experiment with a GROWTH fund in there or something.

I don't want a target date fund. Part of the fun for me is going to be rebalancing and continuing to learn. I don't want to just 'call it a day' and throw my money in. I also read some negatives about target date funds also.
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Brianmcg321
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Brianmcg321 »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:49 am I Just opened my brokerage account. I want to put the money or some in there in an emergency fund instead of leaving it all in the 0.05% savings. I'm trying to decide if a bond fund is the way to go to hold an emergency fund?

A money market fund is low risk, but only returns under 2% .

What about this fund for my taxable?
AFTFX American Funds Tax-Exempt Bond Fund® Class F1

ER is .63 and minimum is $250.00

For my ROTH I have
Total index
International

People keep telling me to read the wiki. I've already read it! It says to select 3 funds or even more. A total market, an international market and a bond I believe. That's what Bogle recommended. But remember that its not the ONLY way. Maybe I want to experiment with a GROWTH fund in there or something.
No. Emergency funds need to be liquid. They are not assets to invest. Bond funds can go down in value too. An emergency fund is insurance. It will keep you from having to go into debt when life happens.
Rules to investing: | 1. Don't lose money. | 2. Don't forget rule number 1.
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

Brianmcg321 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:53 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:49 am I Just opened my brokerage account. I want to put the money or some in there in an emergency fund instead of leaving it all in the 0.05% savings. I'm trying to decide if a bond fund is the way to go to hold an emergency fund?

A money market fund is low risk, but only returns under 2% .

What about this fund for my taxable?
AFTFX American Funds Tax-Exempt Bond Fund® Class F1

ER is .63 and minimum is $250.00

For my ROTH I have
Total index
International

People keep telling me to read the wiki. I've already read it! It says to select 3 funds or even more. A total market, an international market and a bond I believe. That's what Bogle recommended. But remember that its not the ONLY way. Maybe I want to experiment with a GROWTH fund in there or something.
No. Emergency funds need to be liquid. They are not assets to invest. Bond funds can go down in value too. An emergency fund is insurance. It will keep you from having to go into debt when life happens.
Well then in a money market fund in the taxable? I read a lot about emergency or money waiting to be invested should be in a brokerage account. I've got ten of thousands sitting a 0.05%. I don't want to put it all in my 401k yet, but I will be putting some in and my Roth is maxed for this year.

Even on the Vanguard site they tell you to put your emergency fund into a money market fund.
tvubpwcisla
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by tvubpwcisla »

What's more important than asset allocation is keeping your expenses as low as possible. No ratio of stocks to bonds will save you if your bills are too high. It's really a personal choice that boils down to what allows you to sleep well at night. Mr. Bogle had a 50 / 50 portfolio and there were days he felt as though he had too much in stocks and other days he believed he had too much in bonds. At the end of the day, 50 / 50 is where he felt comfortable. Pick the allocation that works best for you and then go and enjoy life; it goes by fast.
Ferdinand2014
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by Ferdinand2014 »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am To me it's a little more fun right now doing separate funds to kind of see what each one does. I only have $6k in there so I'm not risking a lot. Well I mean $6k is a lot really though.

I just added a Fidelity Reit FSRNX for 10%. It won't go through until Monday I think.

So I've got

10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Is the FHIGX Municipal Bond Fund (Fidelity) good? Would that be suitable for going in a taxable with money I don't want to invest yet?
If I live in Maine, is that free from my State tax?

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
It would be helpful if you posted in the standard format for portfolio review.
FSDAX and FOCPX are terrible ideas.
FSNRX is unnecessary.
You are changing your mind like the wind and seem unsure of your decisions.
Based on previous posts you state you are 46.
You also stated your in a low tax bracket.
If it were me I would keep it as simple as possible:
Brokerage: 3 months of emergency money in FDIC cash core or FDLXX (Fidelity treasury only money market fund)
Roth, IRA, other taxable and 401k/403b into a target date fund such as FBIFX (Fidelity Freedom Index 2040 fund) ER 0.12
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutua ... /315793885
“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.“ — Warren Buffett
wfromm
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by wfromm »

One way to start off may be to put it all in Vanguard Balanced Index Fund. Then when you have 20-30k switch into the Three Fund Portfolio. This will let you have very low fees from the beginning and less volatility since you are basically a new investor. Jack Bogle put his grandchildren's money in this fund.
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kevinf
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by kevinf »

pharmermummles wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:33 am I'd like to point out that you've been getting a lot of blanket advice that may not actually be ideal for you. The decision to hold municipal bonds in a taxable brokerage is a common one, but it really depends on your tax bracket to determine if it is worth it, since munis generally yield less than general bond funds. It is not uncommon for people to hold their bonds in a tax-advantaged account since they are so tax inefficient. I may have missed it, but did you happen to mention your expected tax bracket now and over the next 20 or so years until retirement?
I don't think anyone is necessarily chasing yield with muni's in taxable. I advocated for going 100% equities in the roth and using tax-exempt bonds in the taxable. If I was yield chasing, I'd just add equities to the taxable. Instead I'm reducing volatility so the equities in the roth can do whatever they like; way up, way down, doesn't matter. Roth space is extremely limited, so using that very valuable, very limited space to reduce volatility doesn't make sense when the same can be done without any limit in a taxable account using tax-exempt bonds.
pharmermummles
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by pharmermummles »

kevinf wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:17 pm
pharmermummles wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:33 am I'd like to point out that you've been getting a lot of blanket advice that may not actually be ideal for you. The decision to hold municipal bonds in a taxable brokerage is a common one, but it really depends on your tax bracket to determine if it is worth it, since munis generally yield less than general bond funds. It is not uncommon for people to hold their bonds in a tax-advantaged account since they are so tax inefficient. I may have missed it, but did you happen to mention your expected tax bracket now and over the next 20 or so years until retirement?
I don't think anyone is necessarily chasing yield with muni's in taxable. I advocated for going 100% equities in the roth and using tax-exempt bonds in the taxable. If I was yield chasing, I'd just add equities to the taxable. Instead I'm reducing volatility so the equities in the roth can do whatever they like; way up, way down, doesn't matter. Roth space is extremely limited, so using that very valuable, very limited space to reduce volatility doesn't make sense when the same can be done without any limit in a taxable account using tax-exempt bonds.
Oh I don't disagree with you at all. I just recall seeing some discussion on the board of the relative after-tax yields of total bond market vs. a muni bond fund with similar duration in taxable. Even with the tax inefficiency, total bond can sometimes be better in taxable if one's tax bracket is low enough. I seem to remember the break even being the 22 or 25% federal bracket for most cases. For most people, that means munis make sense in taxable, I just wasnt sure what OP's situation was.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by aerosurfer »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:04 am
Well then in a money market fund in the taxable? I read a lot about emergency or money waiting to be invested should be in a brokerage account. I've got ten of thousands sitting a 0.05%. I don't want to put it all in my 401k yet, but I will be putting some in and my Roth is maxed for this year.

Even on the Vanguard site they tell you to put your emergency fund into a money market fund.

This makes no sense... if you have many tens of thousands sitting why are you stressing over 6k in a roth?

Put it in Ally or other high yield saving account until you have a path forward. You can instantly make over 30x your current money with that while you decide.

Also you dont put savings into a 401k you defer earnings from work. So that money would be what you partly live on while you defer paycheck money into a 401k.

All of your money across each account should be considered as one. That's what people are telling you. Put equities in Roth, bonds in tax deferred (401k) and a combination of equities and cash savings, emergency fund, CDs into taxable accounts. But don't get caught up trying to micromanage 6k if you have thousands sitting elsewhere. At this point consider that your 'bond fund'. As asked before, what's your tax bracket, income, and total picture?
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by White Coat Investor »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 amThat means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!
Want to get rich? Fix this.

The first $100K is definitely the hardest, but there is a lot more to building wealth and financial independence than just investing well. Find ways to increase your income and your savings rate so it isn't "many more years" before you have $50-100K invested.

Saving 10% of a $30K income and earning 8% on it requires 17 years to hit $100K
Saving 20% of a $50K income and earning 8% on it requires 8 years to hit $100K
Saving 30% of a $200K income and earning 8% on it requires about 20 months to hit $100K.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
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thelateinvestor43
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by thelateinvestor43 »

White Coat Investor wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 1:53 pm
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 amThat means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!
Want to get rich? Fix this.

The first $100K is definitely the hardest, but there is a lot more to building wealth and financial independence than just investing well. Find ways to increase your income and your savings rate so it isn't "many more years" before you have $50-100K invested.

Saving 10% of a $30K income and earning 8% on it requires 17 years to hit $100K
Saving 20% of a $50K income and earning 8% on it requires 8 years to hit $100K
Saving 30% of a $200K income and earning 8% on it requires about 20 months to hit $100K.
A website showed a chart that if you contribute the max to your ROTH for 20 years you'll have about $226,000 at 7% annual return. I already have almost 6 figures, so I don't have far to go anyways.

But you're correct that a higher income allows you to get there quicker.
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by carminered2019 »

thelateinvestor43 wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:50 am It seems that everyone is recommending that in my new ROTH IRA I stay with my first $6k all in the FSKAX Total Market Index Fund, but I thought the Bogle philosophy was to have at the very least 2 or up to 4 different funds to diversify?

Shouldn't I have at least something allocated to a Total Market Bond fund or something?

Right now Fidelity is warning me that I'm 100% stocks and they show a little blue Pie chart and tell me that it's HIGH RISK or something similar.

Someone on this forum said "Don't worry about having bonds until you hit $50k or even $100k"

Isn't that pretty risky??

That means I'm going to be 100% stocks for many more years! YIKES!!

I'm not a millionaire! :shock:
I maxed out my 401K, 100% equities and got my fist 1 million after 23 years and I am sure most people got there around 22-25 years.
krb
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Re: Isn't it a bad idea to have everything in equity I thought?

Post by krb »

KingRiggs wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:28 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:20 am
dogagility wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:40 am
thelateinvestor43 wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2019 3:02 am So I've got
10% on FSRNX Reit
20% on International Index FSPSX
70% will go on Total Market FSKAX

Would it be wise to allocate a percentage to FSDAX Select Defense and Aerospace Portfolio? It has returned around 20% a year.

Also FOCPX Fidelity® OTC Portfolio (no minimum invest) has returned $50k witha $10k investment in 10 years. It would be interesting to see what $1k would do in one of those inside my ROTH.

Just kind of experimenting
Having the "experimenting" mentality for investing will be detrimental to your investment return. It will lead to chasing past performance, buying high and selling low.

If you haven't yet, please read the Bogleheads wiki starting here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

FSDAX is a poor choice due to being concentrated in a small sector of the economy and having a high expense ratio fee (0.75%). Ditto for FOCPX.

Stick with low cost, diversified total stock market index funds for the equity portion of your portfolio. Then, stay the course.
Doesn't FOCPX also have a high ER though? .89%?

I did an "attempt to cancel" on Fidelity. I only allotted $1500 to FSDAX, hopefully they'll cancel it.
You can buy and sell in your Roth without tax consequences, so if you have buyer’s remorse about a fund, you can get out of it easily.

HOWEVER, it would seem that your Investing For Dummies has left you confused and flitting from one idea to another. For the final time, PLEASE watch the Getting Started videos on Bogleheads, PLEASE read the Wiki on Bogleheads, and PLEASE educate yourself further before you invest ANY of your inheritance in a taxable account.

You don’t seem to be able to do any of those steps. Without them, I predict a rocky road for you.

Best of luck.
Don’t insult personal investing for dummies! It’s great! Or the idiots book. I’m pretty sure to be honest it says exactly the same thing as the Bogle heads book. But op read a beginners investor book before you put money in. It will only take a couple of days. They are very easy to read. It all comes down to they will explain what bonds and equities are, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and guide you as to how much of each should be in your portfolio. Spoiler alert-depends on your risk tolerance and when you need the money.
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