[cute fuzzy bunny]

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Originally Posted by tangomonster when he convinced us to get heavily into energy, commodities, and international index/mutual funds.

And you havent learned your lesson yet? He humped you into everything that was already run up. Also known as "buy high"

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We can sell most of our mutual funds and keep it in cash until the time seems better for reinvesting

Also known as "sell low"

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He could not explain how this wasn't market timing.

Thats because it is market timing.

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That no matter what, stocks are crucial to beat inflation.

The only good piece of advice. Other options? You could lose money to inflation and taxes in cash and cd's. You could barely break even with most bonds, after inflation and taxes. You could squeak out a couple of percent using TIPS, providing we dont have a few deflationary years that start eating your returns. Over every 20 year period in virtually every modern economy, the only asset class that has returned better than a percent or two real, taxed return is equities.

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but insurance companies may make less of a profit. Health care may need to be delivered more chealy. And regardless of who gets in, the economy is getting to take its toll on people purchasing health care.

Congratulations. You're smarter than your broker. I've been out of the health care sectors for a few years now, for exactly the reasons you've delineated.

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That we should get rid of our international funds because the market may not have bottomed in other countries.

Or they may recover faster than our market does.

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That we should get rid of energy funds (supposedly both candidates are into alternative energy resources).

So? Lets say every car manufacturer rolls out new models tomorrow that are 4x as efficient as current models, and half of them are electric. Then on Sunday the electric companies announce that they've figured out how to run their plants 24x7 without maintenance to be able to charge up all the electric cars.

How long before a majority of the existing cars, trucks, buses and so forth reach the point where its more economical to scrap them and replace? 3 years? 5 years? 7 years?

Couple that with the fact that none of this stuff will be happening tomorrow or sunday...or next year, or 3 years from now....or....

Oil will be around for some time. Its gotten cheaper and may get cheaper still. But it going to go back up again, probably as early as next year. And it'll keep going up.