Stock Market/Investing/Fin Planning Catch-All

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Geisterfahrer said:
Market has really gotten bizarre with the meme stocks, crypto, retail investor short selling etc. makes me even more inclined to buy nothing but no-fee index funds.
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And a hearty VOO (Vamguard Index 500 etf) to you! :-) Based simply on time you ca put into it, most people wisely opt for 100% index MFs or ETFs, or 70-80% as the smart way to go.
Fpr the Mt Everest tyoes, NVDA is now 25% off its high (has done 20-25 dip 3 other times past 18 months and then taken off. So for mid-term and long-term investorys, might be worth a look for at least a small investment.
SMH (Semiconductor ETF) is down nearly 20& so might be worth a little toe-dipping for medium or long-term.
Caveat emptor, esp since August and September are historically th4e two weakest months for stocks.
 
I'm a big fan of passive, low-cost index fund investing. I don't have the patience, knowledge, or desire to do individual stock picking or day trading. I am a big believer in the strength, ingenuity, and adaptability of the American economy as a whole, and I like the idea of being able to invest broadly in the market, in a way that tracks the market. I'm in my early 30's so I am currently in 100% stock funds across the entirety of my portfolio. In fact, I'm essentially in the same fund, more or less, across all of my different accounts: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSAX) in my accounts that offer Vanguard funds, and Fidelity Total Market Index (FSKAX) in my work-sponsored retirement accounts that are with Fidelity. It's certainly the boring way to invest but I really enjoy the "set it and forget it" mindset where I don't have to think about it or miss it from my paycheck.
 
Faucette said:
VTSAX for me. IIRC that is the fund Buffet said would out perform every other fund over a ten year period, if you picked one that did better he would give you a million.
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I don't disagree with what you say, and I definitely am not going to disagree with any investing advice from Warren Buffet. But, since the late 1980's, (when I first got a say-so about how my retirement funds could be invested) a big chuck (about 70%) of my retirement funds have been invested in three Vanguard Funds (Vanguard 500 Index Fund (50%), Vanguard Wellesley Fund (25%), and Vanguard Windsor II (25%). That was a decision I have never regretted. I could have done better, but only with a level of risk I was not prepared to take.
 
05C40 said:
I don't disagree with what you say, and I definitely am not going to disagree with any investing advice from Warren Buffet. But, since the late 1980's, (when I first got a say-so about how my retirement funds could be invested) a big chuck (about 70%) of my retirement funds have been invested in three Vanguard Funds (Vanguard 500 Index Fund (50%), Vanguard Wellesley Fund (25%), and Vanguard Windsor II (25%). That was a decision I have never regretted. I could have done better, but only with a level of risk I was not prepared to take.
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My father got me into Wellesley and Windsor II in the 80s as well. :)

They've aged very well.
 
Reason to invest if at all possible in your situation. Data from Ritholtz Asset Mgmt. Bottom line re average stock market returns. Positive 3 out of 4 years. The average gain in positive years is much greater than the average loss in down years.

Study of rolling one-year returns 1926-today (late 2023)

Market up 75% of those years

UP YEARS
40% or more 6.7% of time
30% or more 18,4%
20% or more 34%
10% or more 57%

DOWN
40% or more 1%
30% or more 3%
20% or more 6%
10% or more 12.9%

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Faucette said:
VTSAX for me. IIRC that is the fund Buffet said would out perform every other fund over a ten year period, if you picked one that did better he would give you a million.
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FCNTX under the masterful leadership of Will Danoff has been very good to me over the last 25 years
 
An interesting site for research:

FINVIZ.com - Stock Screener

Stock screener for investors and traders, financial visualizations.
finviz.com finviz.com
A bunch of tools..
The blocks on the right represent the relative market cap of stock by classification, and their performance for the day..
 
Yep.. mutual funds aren't great in a taxable account; you may have to pay taxes on the distribution without the cash in hand. In a retirement account the distributions don't matter; you won't be taxed until you take a distribution, or not at all in a Roth.
 
Anyone have suggestions on a good Bond Fund or a good Vanguard conservative fund?

My MIL came into some money and wants something super conservative. The money is sitting at Vanguard, almost all of it is in a money market making 5.29%. I was thinking keep most there while the rate is high but slowly transition some to conservative investments. I am thinking

35% VTSAX
35% VGSTX
30% in whatever bond fund they have, think it's BND
 
Faucette said:
Anyone have suggestions on a good Bond Fund or a good Vanguard conservative fund?

My MIL came into some money and wants something super conservative. The money is sitting at Vanguard, almost all of it is in a money market making 5.29%. I was thinking keep most there while the rate is high but slowly transition some to conservative investments. I am thinking

35% VTSAX
35% VGSTX
30% in whatever bond fund they have, think it's BND
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Yeah BND is their main bond fund.
 
The mention of Contranfund reminds me of a friend. She had put 15,000 into an IRA by 1993 or so. Then got married and did not add anything else. By 2016 the 15,000 had grown to over $600,000. She had invested in Fidelity Growth FDGRX run by Steve Wymer. Quite volatile esp in 2000-03 and 08/09 but averaged around 17% over that time. Amazing how it can add up and how much a couple of percentage points over time can make.
My late Father-in-Law, an old Bethlehem Steel employee got lucky and invtested in Fidelity Magellan under Peter Lynch from around 1979-88 which helped when all the steel jobs started moving overseas (thanks for nothing Wilbur Rpss and Carl Icahn etc. Yes Oliver Stone nailed you in Wall Street)
 
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heelslegup said:
The mention of Contranfund reminds me of a friend. She had put 15,000 into an IRA by 1993 or so. Then got married and did not add anything else. By 2016 the 15,000 had grown to over $600,000. She had invested in Fidelity Growth FDGRX run by Steve Wymer. Quite volatile esp in 2000-03 and 08/09 but averaged around 17% over that time. Amazing how it can add up and how much a couple of percentage points over time can make.
My late Father-in-Law, an old Bethlehem Steel employee got lucky and invtested in Fidelity Magellan under Peter Lynch from around 1979-88 which helped when all the steel jobs started moving overseas (thanks for nothing Wilbur Rpss and Carl Icahn etc. Yes Oliver Stone nailed you in Wall Street)
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I have had the majority of my retirement in contrafund and growth company for 30+ years.
 
For those who are considering diversification by investing in bond funds within your retirement accounts, I would suggest investing in a money market fund as a bond proxy.

Currently money market funds are paying 5% which is more than competitive with current bond rates and without any downside risk.

If you invest in a money market fund in your Roth IRA paying 5%, it is like investing in a tax free muni bond without the downside risk
 
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