Good riddance, 2008.....

[ziggy29]

...so sayeth Fidelity in calculating my 401K's "return" in 2008:



Yuck. Of course, it was down about 36% at one point...

[Bikerdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 ...so sayeth Fidelity in calculating my 401K's "return" in 2008: Yuck. Of course, it was down about 36% at one point...

I started the year with a 50/50 allocation and I'm down 20% as of the close 12/31/2008. Now, what does 2009 have in store.:confused:

[Alan]

My end of year performance was a return of -16.45%. My worst ever, Previous worst was -11% in 2002.

According to the VG portfolio analyzer, for my mix of 40/50/10, the worst ever year was -18.0% (1931) so a bit of a recovery in the last quarter I think.

My other figures are:

Last year -16.45%
Last 3 years -0.6%
Last 5 years 2.7%
Last 10 years 3.0%
Last 14 years 8.9%

I only started recording the details from 1994 but you can see how 2 bears in 10 years hammers the returns, and this current one possibly has a ways to run yet.

All the best in 2009.

[Moemg]

-30% .Let's hope this year is better !

[FIREd]

The XIRR for my overall portfolio was -29% in 2008.

[TromboneAl]

My rebalancing spreadsheet tells me that tomorrow I need to move $106,000 into stocks. That's a lot. The only question is whether I do it all at once, or in several.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan My end of year performance was a return of -16.45%. My worst ever, Previous worst was -11% in 2002. According to the VG portfolio analyzer, for my mix of 40/50/10, the worst ever year was -18.0% (1931) so a bit of a recovery in the last quarter I think. My other figures are: Last year -16.45% Last 3 years -0.6% Last 5 years 2.7% Last 10 years 3.0% Last 14 years 8.9% I only started recording the details from 1994 but you can see how 2 bears in 10 years hammers the returns, and this current one possibly has a ways to run yet. All the best in 2009.

You beat me. I was down just a little over 20% for 2008 with a 50/50 AA. But I'm moving forward. Even ditching my 'Born Loser' ID. Back to 'Full Time Golf Bum'. But if 2009 brings another 20% decline, back to 'Loser' status.

[NW-Bound]

For me, -26% in 2008. View another way, this sets me back to somewhere between 2004 and 2005, or something like 3.5 years.

Of course, it is a bit more complicated than that, since until this year, we still had some income from my part-time and freelance work, and were even able to have net savings sometimes.

Next year will be interesting for us. ER, here we come!

[unclemick]

-26% according to my Vanguard website - Target Retirement 2015 plus Norwegian widow stocks.

Hmmm - handgrenade and horsehoe wise about 4% SEC yield just eyeballing the dividends/interest.

Full auto - sometimes I have to sit on my hands when the urge to buy a few more dividend stocks hits.

heh heh heh - going into 16th yr of ER just going to 'force myself' to spend and not cut back 'too much' cause I'm not getting any younger. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to cheap.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick heh heh heh - going into 16th yr of ER just going to 'force myself' to spend and not cut back 'too much' cause I'm not getting any younger. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to cheap.

Buy, buy, buy.

Stocks AND bonds AND booze.

While keep cash? Truckloads will be dropped from helicopters.

Buy, buy, buy.

[Goonie]

In the neighborhood of -28% YTD on investments. Fortunately my pension increased just north of 7%.....and is set to do about the same in 2009! So overall, I'm still sittin' purty!

[NW-Bound]

Buy, buy, buy.

Actually, it's easier said than done. I have been buying very slowly. Bought some yesterday, and made a bit of money already. Instant gratification. Will see if the gain holds tomorrow.

Despite tough talks, I am a chicken. Had I have guts to move more to stocks in 2003, I would have enough now to get that house on Bainbridge Island, across the bay from Seattle, with the view of the Space Needle. Something I always wanted. Up until recently, there were none on the market. Now there are, but my pocket is light.

No guts, no glory. Yep, that's my non-glorious life.

PS. Well, I did have guts, which were all expended in failing startups that I joined.

[Corporateburnout]

Quicken says -27.89% on a 65/35 mix.

Back to 3/1/2006 levels including 35K annual contributions......

[Notmuchlonger]

-38.8 % Thank god for pensions

[REWahoo]

-21.2%. SS starts in 41 days and that should give my bruised and battered nest egg a little relief.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg54 You beat me. I was down just a little over 20% for 2008 with a 50/50 AA. But I'm moving forward. Even ditching my 'Born Loser' ID. Back to 'Full Time Golf Bum'. But if 2009 brings another 20% decline, back to 'Loser' status.

I noticed your new avatar even before I read the e-mail. I like the positive approach to '09

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl My rebalancing spreadsheet tells me that tomorrow I need to move $106,000 into stocks. That's a lot. The only question is whether I do it all at once, or in several.

My recent personal Wellesley returns are very poor and when I look I see that last year I did some TLH in December, buying $108,000 of Wellesley at $52.48/share. Bad timing, share price is now $44.57. In retrospect I should have kept the money in a MMF and DCA'ed over the year. C'est la vie

[73ss454]

Alan, I think Wellesley is trading around 85 bucks. Where did you see it in the 40's?
Maybe I'm wrong but last I looked it was much higher.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73ss454 Alan, I think Wellesley is trading around 85 bucks. Where did you see it in the 40's? Maybe I'm wrong but last I looked it was much higher.

Must have been a while since you looked...

VANGUARD WELLESLEY INCOME ADMIRAL

Net Asset Value:44.57 Trade Time: Dec 31, 2008

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Must have been a while since you looked... VANGUARD WELLESLEY INCOME ADMIRAL Net Asset Value:44.57 Trade Time: Dec 31, 2008

Thanks - yes, it is Admiral funds that I was talking about.