[quote=sdrealtor][quote=ltsdd][quote=sdrealtor]Obviously you have never managed a retirees portfolio. None of those are appropriate for someone whose first priority is safety of principal and number 2 is income. There is no number 3 for a retiree.[/quote]

No, I have never managed a retirees portfolio. It would be a disservice to those folks if I claim I know more about investments than what I really know. I also know enough to understand that just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you need to “retire” your investment style. If you believe in the market during your working years then why should that changed when you retired? You might want to play a little defensively and make sure you have a “bucket” of money invested in something that is shock-proof to the market downturn, but continue to invest the rest of the money in the equity market. If a retiree goal is to protect the principle then why pay for someone to do it when they could do it themselves by either stick it under their mattresses or a saving/cd account if they’re less risk adverse.[/quote]

I am not paid for managing this portfolio but the responsibility that comes with it is enormous. There are major differences between investing during your working years and when you are retired but here are the big 3. When you are retired there are no more contributions to your retirement fund-you have to deal with what you got. When you are retired you do not have time to recover from bad losses. When you are retired you dont earn an income anymore so you either generate income from your assets or you spend down your assets. Nothing is scarier to a retire than spending down their assets.[/quote]

I agree. It sucks to have to work all your life and still not able to have a worry-free retirement. If your goal is to preserve the principle and investing like one then you’re going to run into the risk of running out of money before you die. Here’s one tidbit about the market, I don’t think it ever had a negative return over any 10-year period.