Is anyone 50+ and still in full aggressive growth mode with IRA?

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckelly78z My 401K is 100% equities at 54 years old....it's hard to give up the 25% YTD returns so far this year.

I also like the YTD return so far. What I did not like was when the S&P tumbled recently from 2931 on 9/20/2018 to 2351 on 12/24/2018 or a drop of 20%. Santa Claus gave us lumps of hot burning coal last Christmas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecondCor521 ... Since my WR is currently 0.85% ...

It is impressive that your WR is so low. It is under even the meager dividend yield of the S&P. You are safe no matter what you do.

I figure I would be safe too no matter what I do because I do not expect to live even another 30 years, and I still have SS to draw on. However, being a self-professed market timer, I always like to have something outside of equities in order to have something to rebalance with. I like to get higher returns because it is a challenge.

The above said, the truth is that, at the market bottom, I never could overweigh stocks as much as I said beforehand that I would. It's tougher said than done. But running stock AA as high 70 to 80% is not too chicken either, and I am OK with my performance so far.

[GoBears]

My father at age 90 (later this month) is a firm believer in and adheres to a 60/40 allocation. Of course, he has a pension that provides more than his annual leaving expenses. So, he bought himself a Tesla last year. I, on the other hand, have no pension....

[NW-Bound]

If you are in the mid 70s or older and still have a decent portfolio that you are not likely to exhaust and are thinking of passing on to your heirs, there's no reason to cut back on stock AA.

[atmsmshr]

Was essentially 100% equities in 401k for 32 years with a steady job. Mostly S&P index and NextEra, plus a lucky stake dabbling with international. Rode out the up and downs of dot com bust and great recession while working.

Last year at 58, began cutback to equity and transferring to a MM account becoming much more conservative as retirement approached and having from our perspective - 'won the game.' No worries at all last Christmas. Swung to Treasuries from MM this past spring when Fed stopped raising interest rates.

Officially retired now. Plan to minimize Sequence of Risk Returns is to have a rising equity glide path. Our goal is not to maximize the grubstake, but to have a stable income. I would rather have a controlled drawdown than a 40% drop in assets. Pension and SS will cover the essentials.

11% return in the last 12 months according to FIDO - attributable to NextEra and Treasuries.

YMMV

[mrfeh]

53 here and semi-retired.

AA is 60/40. Plan to keep it there forever.

[Which Roger]

I do (age minus 10)% in bonds. Everyone's situation is different. Several responders have indicated that they have "more than enough", i.e., a very low withdrawal rate due either to a large portfolio or other income such as pension and SS. This group is well beyond the threshold for a 100% success rate. In such cases, one is safe with just about any asset allocation - be aggressive or conservative; it really doesn't matter if you don't need the money, so considerations other than having enough to live on can drive the asset allocation decision. This is much different from those who are "closer to the edge" wrt FireCalc-like calculations, where asset allocation can make all the difference between whether or not a portfolio will survive.

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I'm planning on being solvent for the next 100 years just in case I stumble across some fountain of youth so I must have growth. Also I want more money each year in retirement rather than less. Even if I can't spend it all buying stuff there is always random gifting.

I know that at least one much older person gave me money to buy something for my kids a couple times when I politely declined a too generous tip stating they had too much money. I still smile at that memory and the older person who had too much money.

[cyber888]

At 50, I was 92% equity. Now at 55, I'm at 75% equity/25% fixed and alternatives

[Cobra9777]

We're 58 and 59 with 70% equity. Been retired 6 years. We have two pensions that cover about 50-60% of spend. SS at 70 should cover the rest, depending on inflation. I like bonds for stability during this early period when we are dependent on withdrawals and SoR risk is high. Over time, we'll probably transition to 100% equity. Even at 100%, if you consider the NPV of our pensions as bond-equivalents, it's really 70/30. The portfolio mainly serves as protection against inflation, longevity, and LTC. So I think equity is appropriate, especially after SS starts.

[street]

62 and 75 to 80% equity and don't plan on changing that even if I live into my 80's.

[imoldernu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Not as aggressive as the geezers posting here. I know some people here holding no stocks and being 100% in bond and cash. They just have not responded yet.

Me... Just I Bonds, SS, and a small annuity. The rest is in personal property and LTC policy..

Ooops... (unenterprising) three tiny stocks from which we just get quarterly dividends, just to replenish wallet cash.

[brett]

In our late 60's. At any given time, equities are 50-60 percent of our portfolio.

But....we have a very low draw down percentage. I suspect this is the key for many people. If we did not have a good DB and we relied only on our investments for retirement income then I suspect our equity allocation would be in the 35 percent range. If we included the current estimated NPV of our DB as an asset, then our equity position would be in the 40 percent range.

[DeborahB]

I’m 71 and probably 80% in dividend paying stocks, mostly individual stocks. I have a couple of REITs, some bond funds, some misc. My goal is for everything to pay significant interest or dividends. I have some stocks with huge unrealized LTCG that pay small dividends. I’m doing okay and I don’t fret.

[gwraigty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Not as aggressive as the geezers posting here. I know some people here holding no stocks and being 100% in bond and cash. They just have not responded yet.

About 95%+ in bonds, with a mix of individual issues and ETFs. No particular desired asset allocation.

[GenXguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audie Murphy How many ignore this and stick with and aggressive growth strategy?

I ignore it as all bad advice or advice that is so limited as to be useless. My AA consists of more than just stocks and bonds. So I basically express my AA as "equities to every thing else".

Right now, in my mid 50's, I'm 43% equities. I plan to use a rising equity glide path during FIRE so that I will increase my equities, the opposite of the conventional advice you gave.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwraigty About 95%+ in bonds, with a mix of individual issues and ETFs. No particular desired asset allocation.

Does that make you 95+ years old based on the OP's advice?

[gwraigty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GenXguy Does that make you 95+ years old based on the OP's advice?

If so, I'm looking pretty darned good for my age!

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound It is impressive that your WR is so low. It is under even the meager dividend yield of the S&P. You are safe no matter what you do.

Thanks, but it is the consequence of several mistakes on my part. So while the optimizing and competitive part of me is proud, the rest of me is more ambivalent.

1. I inherited a bad worry habit from my Mom, who was wonderful in pretty much every other way. So even though I have enough, I don't feel like I do.

2. I assumed that I would not have any income outside my portfolio. In fact I do have income from outside my portfolio.

3. I assumed my kids would get no scholarships and no financial aid. This assumption was erroneous.

4. I've always assumed the future would be no better than the past. The past ten years have been very good, so that assumption was, in essence, wrong.

There are a few others things that have happened as well. In general, I've planned to survive based on everything turning out badly, but things have been turning out well so far. So far.

[MikeWillRetire]

I am 57 and planning to retire in 2 years. I'm conservative by nature, so my AA is 35/65.

[Speculator]

I'm going on 69 and am 14% in real estate, 65% in dividend paying stocks and 21% in cash. As an aside, I discovered a sad fact about real estate: "You don't know what it's worth until you go to sell it." I tried to sell a home in 2008 and was very surprised at what buyers thought it was worth.

[marko]

Age 67

60/40. Recently re-allocated more aggressively from ~55/45.