What 'ya doin'?

[Spanky]

33% equity -- planned to increase it to 50%.

 

[ripper1]

I agree ripper1.

I'm 56 like ARB57. Retiring in December 2011. Small pension from a former employer that I will tap in 4 years that will cover 10-15% of annual living costs; plus SS (at age 70 I think).

I think I would probably be 60/40 whether I had the pension or not; I need equities as an inflation hedge in the event my longevity is good. But having the pension makes my withdrawal rate more comfortable than if I didn't have it.

Congratulations on your retirement. Like ARB and yourself I will also be 56 in Jan 2012.

 

[NYEXPAT]

58 retired AA is currently 0/0, Always was 100% equities until the early 2000's. If/when the S&P hits the low 700's, may repatriate 50% to buy equities. No pension.

 

[W2R]

I'm retired, and I am staying the course (and will rebalance in January).

My target AA is 45:55 equities:fixed.

If you don't mind, going forward, please let me know whether or not you have a pension and how that factors into your overall investment approach.

I am a retired federal employee, which gives me a pension and access to group health insurance coverage for life. My little pension is in the lower to middle 3 figures per month after my health insurance premium is subtracted out.

 

[jebmke]

Still sitting tight. Have not hit my re-balance triggers yet.

I did cull a bottle of wine out of my cellar last night so my liquid assets dropped a little.

 

[Nords]

A couple of posters have volunteered the fact that they also have a pension. On one hand, depending upon the size of one's nest egg, it would seem that the existence of a pension would "allow" one to be a bit more aggressive with their portfolio (higher percentage of equities.) On the other, having a pension might decrease the importance of growing that nest egg, thus reducing the need for greater exposure to equities. What's your take? If you don't mind, going forward, please let me know whether or not you have a pension and how that factors into your overall investment approach.

Asset allocation considerations for a military pension | Military Retirement & Financial Independence
Asset allocation considerations for a military pension (part 2 of 3) | Military Retirement & Financial Independence
Asset allocation considerations for a military pension (part 3 of 3) | Military Retirement & Financial Independence

 

[easysurfer]

I do the 100 - age thing as the percentage is equities.

When the new year rolls around, it'll be time to do the annual check my target vs actual asset allocations dance

 

[freebird5825]

FIREd, age 53
AA 32/65/3
Staying the course Still accumulating on a modest scale, diversifying my MF bond holdings with respect to average duration.

Survivor benefits: CSRS pension and health insurance for life.
Annuity (conversion of my TSP 401(k)) income.

My own FERS pension coming at age 56.
I can draw my own SS at 62. No spouse SS benefit.

AA when employed: 60/40
AA at retirement: 50/50
Current AA target : 30/70 +- 5%

Modest size nest egg, low to medium risk tolerance.

I am single, so all I have is all I have.

 

[Coolius]

Retired in April. No pension. No Social Security for another 2 years.

I am living off dividends from preferred shares and a CD ladder. Mix is about 40% Preferreds, 60% CD ladder.

IRA is presently 80% bonds, 20% stocks. No MF. ( Hope not to have to touch this until RMD time )

 

[JPatrick]

Been buying on the dips. Mostly DVY and IVW through FIDO's commission free program. Sold Oct and Nov calls on part of my DVY stash. As you might imagine, they have all expired worthless which so far suits me fine.
From the technical indicators I follow, the market is clearly in the crapper, but due for a bounce next week, but I don't expect any long term joy.

 

[brewer12345]

I have been buying junk, selectively. Also added to a beaten down name I like. I bailed out of a single name that has a great long term opportunity but which may not have the balance sheet to make it to the eventual pot of gold. The resulting cash I am feeding back into the equity market every time there is a really lousy day (like wed.).

Other than that, I keep plunking the 401k contributions into a balanced fund that is about 50/50 and accruing cash balance pension credit. I am about 60/40 overall, but I usually run more like 70/30 and will get back to that level by the time I reinvest the cash I raised from my recent sale.

 

[Nords]

Been buying on the dips. Mostly DVY and IVW through FIDO's commission free program. Sold Oct and Nov calls on part of my DVY stash. As you might imagine, they have all expired worthless which so far suits me fine.

When did you sell those calls? Every time I check DVY call prices they seem to be hardly worth the commission, let alone the risk of being called away...

 

[Telly]

I'm an early-early retired, closing in on 10 years now. A ways to go before SS. 60/40 Equities/Fixed, have not hit any rebalancing trigger points lately. Trigger points are + 5% of total portfolio, so equities would have to be < 55% or > 65% for action.

As the famous Alfred E. Neuman said: "What - me worry?"

 

[l2ridehd]

In retirement process, final in January 2012. Will have SS and 2 pensions which together meet 80% of expenses. Could live off them with some less then severe cut backs. I am currently at 60/40 with all other investments. Will move to 50/50 over the next 10 years and probably stay at that level.

 

[donheff]

A couple of posters have volunteered the fact that they also have a pension. On one hand, depending upon the size of one's nest egg, it would seem that the existence of a pension would "allow" one to be a bit more aggressive with their portfolio (higher percentage of equities.) On the other, having a pension might decrease the importance of growing that nest egg, thus reducing the need for greater exposure to equities. What's your take?

I have been retired for 7 years with a Federal pension that covers about 50% of our expenses (could cover 100% in a crisis). Whe I retired I was around 90% equities (I thought like Nords) but gradually moved down to about 60% where I plan to stay. I ultimately concluded that it made sense to view that "discretionary" spending from the portfolio as a simple income stream to secure. I like the reduced volatility and the research that argues for advantages from diversity. I don't see a need to drop to 50% or less as many do because I have a lot of flexibility to back off spending. Without the Pension I would be no higher than 50% and might be 40%.

 

[psweath]

My wife is retired and I'm very close - maybe 6 months. I realized some time ago that I don't handle market volatility very well at all - totally stresses me out, will literally ruin my day. So to deal with this, first I limit looking at the market to a weekly glance rather than daily. I've built up enough cash to cover 3 years of living expenses; just sits in the bank, earning close to nothing. Then I have another 4 years in only 20% Equities. The rest is 50/50. I am much more relaxed and we are debt-free too which is very freeing.

 

[Nords]

Read an article from a site I subscribe a week or two ago to making a compelling case to do the same thing.
Using Options To Go Long Berkshire Hathaway | LIVING OFF DIVIDENDS & PASSIVE INCOME

Sorry, missed this first time through. Thanks for the link. I should give credit to ClifP for also suggesting this idea.

The blogger makes an excellent case, and he does point out that it's way too easy to overdo it.

Buffett's already put in a floor at $66/share. The "worst nightmare" is if he or Charlie unexpectedly passes away. (At their ages I doubt that it's very "unexpected".) And if that's what caused shares to dip 20%-30% then I'd buy on margin.

But, damn, now everyone's going to start selling naked puts on Berkshire!

No problem. I think the market's going to drop plenty over the next few months, and it'll just be a great opportunity.

 

[Mulligan]

Live off a pension. Most of assets are in CDs. Last year I started fully funding a Roth in Vanguard Star, and will in foreseeable future as I will make enough part time money to fund this. Started making maximum contributions to I Bonds. Began last year dollar cost averaging several hundred bucks two years ago into Vanguard Total Stock. Kind of an odd ball. One of a few people who borrowed his way to retirement (bought expensive service years) and is saving for retirement after being retired.

 

[JPatrick]

When did you sell those calls? Every time I check DVY call prices they seem to be hardly worth the commission, let alone the risk of being called away...

Part of the FIDO beauty is no commission except to sell the call.
Most of my purchases were in August in the $46-47 area.
My average call premium is about $80-90 which works out to about 22% annually. If called away I would have a ~10% gain on the stock which isn't that painful. Again no commission if called. Much of my stash was purchased in 10-20 share increments (only feasible with no commission) which prevents making the "big" timing mistake.
Lots of work for small returns, but hey, it's 2011.

 

[Nords]

My average call premium is about $80-90 which works out to about 22% annually.
Lots of work for small returns, but hey, it's 2011.

I've been targeting $250/contract or more on Berkshire Hathaway and a small-cap value ETF (IJS).

Guess I need to lower my crosshairs a tad more and shoot more often...

 

[Gumby]

We are still in the accumulation phase. Current allocation is about 65/35 and our continued semi-monthly purchases are at about the same ratio.

 

[james22]

Buffett's already put in a floor at $66/share. The "worst nightmare" is if he or Charlie unexpectedly passes away. (At their ages I doubt that it's very "unexpected".) And if that's what caused shares to dip 20%-30% then I'd buy on margin.

Isn't $66 a floor only to protect against a 20-30% dip upon Buffet or Charlie's death?

If Buffet finds other opportunities more attractive if the market drops plenty over the next few months, I assume he'll let BRK.B go below $66.

(I'm interested below $70 and margin interested below $60.)

 

[jayc]

Work part time. 80% CD ladder. 20% stocks, most all high div utility + covered option with a little brkb and mo sprinkled in.

No change in plans and the up/down kind of helps with the current process.

 

[jayc]

For the record, I'm 56...retired about a year...NO pension. I've been quite conservative on the investment front over the years, but have been buying a bit over the last 2 or 3 months. I'm currently at about 25% equities...75% fixed, but have an eventual equity target of 35-40%. Perhaps a bit higher should things get really cheap.

Your feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks!

I would sit with the AA you have now and see how you handle the current market. What is your current track record with the 25%? My max limit is 20% and even then if at the end of the year the return was less than the other 80% then I am not good at it and (savings/bonds + interest) wins.

 

[Nords]

Isn't $66 a floor only to protect against a 20-30% dip upon Buffet or Charlie's death?
If Buffet finds other opportunities more attractive if the market drops plenty over the next few months, I assume he'll let BRK.B go below $66.
(I'm interested below $70 and margin interested below $60.)

I was just using jargon about Berkshire's filing that they'll buy back shares when the stock price drops to within 10% of book value.

Whether Berkshire's buying will be enough to support the stock price is another issue. I don't know enough about the buyback process to know if Berkshire's obligated to disclose their trades as they buy or if they can just submit the usual quarterly filing well after the fact. But I'm pretty sure that a number of analysts and professional investors have fired up their book-value calculators and are watching Berkshire trading volume like a hawk.

I'm trying to imagine an opportunity more attractive to Buffett than buying back his own stock. If there's a time when he crosses from cold-hearted financial analysis to emotional investor psychology, it's when someone wants to be paid in Berkshire stock. I don't know if he'll ever get as excited about some future company as he was about BNSF.