Nearing Goal

[akck]

For the 5th time (first 3 times I didn't know it), I'm nearing my retirement goal for my portfolio. Has anyone ever been tempted to take it all out of equities and invest only in bonds and bond funds, just to make sure it will be there at retirement? I don't think I'll do it, but I'm thinking about it.

[W2R]

No, but it does make sense to shift to a more conservative asset allocation as you near retirement. I did that and was happy to have done it.

[Dennis]

Yes, as she said..
I just put as much in a Bond Portfolio that a 4% Yld and a 7% apy would pay my bills and the rest went into Balanced Funds.
Combined ave of a 40/60 mix.

Since 2000? Both are running pretty close to neck and neck.. The Bond port ave 8% apy and the BalFunds ave 9.5% apy past 10 yrs..

IF LT Treasureis ever get upo to say 7-8% again? You can go that route and take the Qtrly payments out to pay our bills and Invest the left over into a Moderate risk Portfolio ..

[bbbamI]

I've been tempted, but have not done it...yet. Right now, I'm around 32% stock and this seems appropriate in my situation. I have several years of living expenses in cash equivalents and this fact IMO, helps me stay diversified.

[freebird5825]

Disclaimer: My middle name is "Chicken Feathers".

Would I ever go to zero equities? Never gonna happen.

I changed my AA from 60/40 to 50/50 right after I FIREd in April 2007. I wanted to see how that "middle of the road" AA would fare over a 1 year period.
Add 365 days, then a few more months, and I found myself sitting on a
-25% unrealized overall portfolio loss at the end of 2008.
My personal risk limit was exceeded, in real time with real data.
In early January 2009, I reset my AA to 40/60 and intend to leave it right there. This is where I feel comfy.

You need to find your own personal risk comfort zone.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akck For the 5th time (first 3 times I didn't know it), I'm nearing my retirement goal for my portfolio. Has anyone ever been tempted to take it all out of equities and invest only in bonds and bond funds, just to make sure it will be there at retirement? I don't think I'll do it, but I'm thinking about it.

I have to honestly say . I have never been tempted to go all bonds . I have reduced my stock exposure to 65% but I have a stable pension and SS survivor benefits . Why would you go all anything ?

[akck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R No, but it does make sense to shift to a more conservative asset allocation as you near retirement. I did that and was happy to have done it.

I've started the shift from growth to income producing equity investments. I also started my fixed income ladder, for years 1 and 5 of retirement. I have 4 years to complete the ladder and hopefully rates will be up over that period.

[akck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I have to honestly say . I have never been tempted to go all bonds . I have reduced my stock exposure to 65% but I have a stable pension and SS survivor benefits . Why would you go all anything ?

Just because my portfolio has hit it's current target 5 times, only to go below it. Three of those times, my target was higher at the time, so it's the feeling of having enough to retire only to see it disappear. As I approach it for the 6th time, I have a little thought to exit equities to guarantee the portfolio will be large enough. Of course, it would mean re-entering equities in retirement to get an appropriate return.

[Rambler]

I'm still accumulating and targeting around 60/40 to 55/45, with about 2 - 3 years barebones cash on top of that. My goal is to set it up well enough that the bond side of the port takes care of all of my budgeted expenses, and for the first few years anyway, the stock dividends sufficient enough to rebalance and add enough bond interest to cover inflation. Over time, I will sell appreciated equities to rebalance into bonds...hopefully I won't ever have to sell any bonds to rebalance into equities. Fingers and toes are crossed on that one...

R

[akck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 Disclaimer: My middle name is "Chicken Feathers". Would I ever go to all zero equities? Never gonna happen. I changed my AA from 60/40 to 50/50 right after I FIREd in April 2007. I wanted to see how that "middle of the road" AA would fare over a 1 year period. Add 365 days, then a few more months, and I found myself sitting on a -25% unrealized overall portfolio loss at the end of 2008. My personal risk limit was exceeded, in real time with real data. In early January 2009, I reset my AA to 40/60 and intend to leave it right there. This is where I feel comfy. You need to find your own personal risk comfort zone.

I agree with you and will never go all fixed income simply because I may be wrong on my plan and may need more. Also, I'd like to leave an inheritance for the kids, so they'll have a start on their retirement as they pay for mine. One thing that has changed is that I no longer need to be in as risky investments as I used to, so I'm moving from small cap/growth to income producing and will probably move everything into funds as I no longer feel the need to directly manage investments in retirement.

I'm sure I'll find my comfort level too.

[bbbamI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 Would I ever go to all zero equities? Never gonna happen.

I said never once...later I vowed never to say never again....