76 year old changing portfolio based on risk

[priestlake9]

Moving to Majority into low risk /fixed income.

[OldShooter]

I assume you're seeking comments. So ... if that is all money that you are likely to need that is probably a good move. If it includes money that you will probably not need, which will end up in your estate, it depends on your objectives for the estate. If you want to maximize what your beneficiaries receive, "low risk/fixed income" does the opposite, especially in the current environment. IMO anyway.

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome to E-R.org!

[freedomatlast]

Welcome to E-R.org!

Just remember, "low risk /fixed income" generally won't keep up with inflation over time, so there is inflation risk with that portion of a portfolio.

[razztazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freedomatlast Welcome to E-R.org! Just remember, "low risk /fixed income" generally won't keep up with inflation over time, so there is inflation risk with that portion of a portfolio.

Depends on what your current withdrawal rate is and age. Not to sell him short but the Poster is 76. At some point even I'll stop worrying about inflation. In fact since the heart attack "It's OK to stop playing if you've won the game" sounds so much more sensible and less glib than it used to.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by razztazz Depends on what your current withdrawal rate is and age. Not to sell him short but the Poster is 76. At some point even I'll stop worrying about inflation. In fact since the heart attack "It's OK to stop playing if you've won the game" sounds so much more sensible and less glib than it used to.

How true! I'm 78+ and have been going to funerals a lot and visiting a close friend who had a stroke and is paralyzed on one side. Yep, fixed income is good and could be a good plan at times.

I sure hope inflation and the FED move those interest rates up around 5% or more so I can load up with 10 year treasuries.

[Jerry1]

The problem is that I think a lot of people look at fixed income as stable principal. As long as you get into something that you understand, fine. If I had truly won the game, I might get into CD’s or short term treasury bonds so as not to lose principal. Getting into a bond fund is probably not going to satisfy that objective.

Also, my dad is 91 and still doing pretty well. At 76, it’s not unreasonable to assume that you’ll live another 15 or more years - into your 90’s. Do you really have enough to say you’ve won the game if you live 15 or 20 more years?

Personally, if I was 78 and felt I won the game, I’d look into how best to run up the score in order to leave more to my daughters and grandkids. Obviously, that’s a personal decision.

[Markola]

Someone on this board once gave a strategy that was appealing in its simplicity, “If I won the game, I’d put everything in TIPS and be done.”

VIPSX would be even simpler, though I see it’s down like everything else lately. I’m guessing it has a lag time catching up to our inflation spike of late, due to the 7.9 year average duration of the 50 TIPS in it.