Comments on: Are Your Friend’s Investments Performing Better Than Yours?

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Fri, 11 May 2007 16:04:18 +0000

Yes, I agree, timing the market is a BAD BAD BAD idea. It’s dangerous to time the market for anything more than fun and entertainment, unless of course you make a serious study of it like George does at FatPitch.

However, being 29 and holding over 10% in bonds is silly too. At this point, in my early 30’s and behind the eight-ball, I decided to go 100% into stock funds for my investment portfolio and ditch the bonds altogether.

I agree with Lazy Man and Money, you might want to try small or mid cap stock funds to diversify your domestic holdings a little more. I’d sell off 12-17% of those bonds and reallocate to a small cap growth fund. But I’ve had a pretty good run with mine over the last 3 yrs.

By: Jon @ TheMoneyMythos

Jon @ TheMoneyMythos — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:19:23 +0000

I agree that it can be very difficult to stay conservative when you are around riskier investors, especially with the market as hot as it is right now.

However you do seem to be somewhat conservatively invested for a retirement plan in your 20’s. The bond percentage seems a tad high, and I would think you would want to be in a different Vanguard fund that was more growth oriented then value/blend oriented if you are still 35 years away from retirement.

That’s just one opinion though! I’m sure you will continue with decent returns with your current portfolio.

By: The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Ophthalmologist Versus Optometrist Edition

Fri, 11 May 2007 13:30:42 +0000

[...] Are Your Friends’ Investments Performing Better Than Yours? So what if they are? Short term gains in the stock market are fleeting, particularly when you’re just dancing around in various mutual funds. Stick with a fund you like for the long haul and you’ll do fine. (@ money smart life) [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 11 May 2007 12:44:34 +0000

Lazy & invest4life, these are just my 401k holdings, so bonds aren’t 20% of my entire portfolio and I do have small caps in my IRA but I have wondered if I should reduce bonds as a portion of my overall portfolio.

Art, you make a good point. People take a risk when timing the market. Sometimes it pays off and other times it can lose you a lot of money.

By: invest4life

invest4life — Fri, 11 May 2007 04:19:47 +0000

When I do hear of how other friends are performing it tends to make me want to take more risks. I guess it is just the competitive side of me coming out, however you bring up a great point about sticking to the asset allocation that fits your investment goals. I would agree with Lazy Man and Money’s comment that you seem to be pretty heavily weighted in bonds for your age. I am in my twenties as well and although it may be a litte too risky, I am not invested at all in Bonds. But that could certainly come back to haunt me when the market takes a large downturn.

By: Art Dinkin

Art Dinkin — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:22:51 +0000

I don’t know enough about you or your 401(k) to comment on your asset allocation. I can tell you this… It is only a matter of time before your friends crash and burn. TIMING the market will not work in the long run. TIME IN the market will.

Your friend is playing a game of Russian Roulette with their retirement. Sooner or later the bullet will be in the chamber. Until then, they look like a genius.

By: Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money — Thu, 10 May 2007 20:15:48 +0000

I typically make more risky investments (Prosper, for instance) so I’m not sure if my opinion matters, but you’ll get anyway . I think you should ease up on the bonds at your age. I would probably try to get 20% into small cap stocks – perhaps from splitting the Vanguard Institutional (which I’m not familiar with and too Lazy to look it up) and the bonds.