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How much patience before killing 401k?


nurkvinny

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Just opened my Oct-Dec 401k update. Oh boy. I have it on the "safe" side of things, and it still lost around $2300.

 

I am no savvy investor. Do I stop contributing? Leave it alone?

 

The main question that I keep wondering is if the stocks are all cheaper, are the powers that be at the 401k place still buying up lots of shares with my cash? If so, when this shit finally turns around, should me 401k climb a whole Hell of a lot?

 

Just looking for input from real world guys with real world jobs. I don't trust shit that comes out of the 401k rep's mouth or the media.

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It's hard I'm sure, but Logic tells me the market is bound to go up, because it is still around. With that logic I say keep buying low right now, you buy enough it SHOULD pay off in 20 years. 401K is a long term investment so you have to just keep plugging along and hope for the best I guess.
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Just opened my Oct-Dec 401k update. Oh boy. I have it on the "safe" side of things, and it still lost around $2300.

 

I am no savvy investor. Do I stop contributing? Leave it alone?

 

The main question that I keep wondering is if the stocks are all cheaper, are the powers that be at the 401k place still buying up lots of shares with my cash? If so, when this shit finally turns around, should me 401k climb a whole Hell of a lot?

 

Just looking for input from real world guys with real world jobs. I don't trust shit that comes out of the 401k rep's mouth or the media.

Your 401k plan administrator is continuing to purchase shares in whatever funds you have designated, in the proportions you dictate. If you compare your previous statement to this one, you'll find that while your net asset value (the amount you'd pocket, before taxes and penalties, if you sold everything right this second) has gone down, the number of shares you own has gone up. So when this recession is over with, and your shares begin to climb in price again, your net asset value will, as you say, "climb a whole Hell of a lot." The fancy term for this is "dollar cost averaging," but it's more commonly called "buy low, sell high."

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I moved 100% of mine into a Liquid Asset Fund (Morgan Stanley) 16 months ago. It returned over 2 percent for the last 12 months. I haven't lost a cent of my 401k as of today.

 

 

I plan to leave it there for at least 6 more months, then when the market shows signs of strength, go back to aggressive/moderately aggressive funds.

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I'm down well over 50% but it's divested well. I'm sure it'll return but man it's getting REALLY hard not to stop it all completely. Unfortunately, our options don't give us anything that's really stable to "ride it out" so I figure in the long run, It's all money likely to be lost forever.
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I have lost 1/2 of mine and so I'm pulling all of it out next week.

 

You deserve to lose lots of money by that logic.

 

"I lost half my money, so I am going to sell while the stock market IS AT ITS LOWEST it has been in a decade."

 

You should be BUYING things right now....not taking even MORE losses on things you purchased (unless you see them going to $0, because it is true you can lose it all).

 

I just don't understand this idea at all. The market will bounce back, who knows when, but you aren't 60, why pull it out now?

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Stay in it for the long haul. The market is bound to rise eventually, dollar cost averaging works. I have "lost" around 27% as well, but it is going to be a long ass time until i need the money. Studies have shown that people that constantly pull out and put money back in to "time the market" don't make as much as someone who leaves it in and rides it out.
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You've lost nothing till you pull out your money. Only other case were you'd actually lose it is if most of the companies you had shares with went under, but the point of a 401k, mutual fund other things of this type is "diversification." Its built in and will work. The best part about continuing to invest is that your now putting your $20 or whatever per week towards much more shares of each company that the 401k is holding. This will mean much greater gains when things turn around. All things turn around just look at any chart even the 1930's depression turned around.

 

If I had to give the market a time frame I'd give it +2 yrs before any real gains start to show up again, but 401k is to be pulled when your 65 maybe even older by the time we get there and its funny to see you guys in your 20's talking about dumping it. I hope its talk because that would be a huge mistake. Oh that and you'll take a pretty good tax hit if you do.

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Stay in it for the long haul. The market is bound to rise eventually, dollar cost averaging works. I have "lost" around 27% as well, but it is going to be a long ass time until i need the money. Studies have shown that people that constantly pull out and put money back in to "time the market" don't make as much as someone who leaves it in and rides it out.

 

Thats because most can't time the market. Its very easy to tell when to put money in. The current economic climate is a perfect example of a time to buy. Its very hard to tell when to get out though. Human nature makes you want to keep going for the home run, but those are very rare. People make careers out of manipulating the markets and making amatures sell when they should buy and buy when they should sell. They are called "market makers" they are paid to make money for brokers, corps, and some others by creating hype, moving numbers around and messing things up in general (wouldn't be surprised if this practice gets banned in coming years.)

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Leave it be, and contribute if you can. You should ALWAYS contribute up to the point that your company matches your contributions. Guaranteed return!

 

Do not take it out. Not only will you sell at a loss, but you'll get taxed on the income from cashing in securities and possibly have to pay penalties/fees based on the funds you're invested in.

 

But don't trust me...I'm a banker. ;)

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Leave it be, and contribute if you can. You should ALWAYS contribute up to the point that your company matches your contributions. Guaranteed return!

 

Do not take it out. Not only will you sell at a loss, but you'll get taxed on the income from cashing in securities and possibly have to pay penalties/fees based on the funds you're invested in.

 

But don't trust me...I'm a banker. ;)

 

I should clarify. My place matches first 3%, and then 50% of the 4th and 5th percent. I am putting in more than that. What I was really trying to figure out is whether to knock it back down to 5% for a while, down to 3%, etc.

 

I have no plans of pulling the money out (at this point). I should also add that my wife has been out of work since June. She was a manager with a non-profit social workers company that lost all state funding. So, it's been doubly-fun watching more money "being lost".

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Think of your current purchases as if you walked into a car dealer, grocery store, Wal-Mart, etc. and bought the stuff you were looking for at a 35% discount. That's what you are doing with new contributions into a 401K now. When it comes back, and historically it does, you'll have a fair amount of lower priced shares (units actually) headed back up in value.

 

Feff

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whats Liquid assests?..

 

Pretty much anything that is backed by cash, rather than marketable securities (like stocks or mutual funds). Liquid Assets can be converted to cash easily, and usually are low risk but lower return...you'll get 1%-4% depending on the market, but the chance of your investment going DOWN is nil.

 

Vince, I would contribute 5%, and no more if you're on a budget. Even at the 4-5% level, you're making 50% every time you contribute. Think of it that way. Plus, the first 3% your making 100%. Even if the market goes down 40%, you've still made 10%-60% on your cash contributions to your 401(k). And we haven't even discussed the effects of compounding interest...

 

It's all good. Worry about something else.

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