I’m wondering how many people are still in Mutual funds. What are your thoughts about the crazy pumps and swings in the last couple years, but in particular, in the last couple months.
Jobs report 3.2 million losses and the market jumps up?
Crazy times.
Part of my diverse investments remain in a Mutual like Roth fund, but even that is diversified (50% S&P 500, yikes!), as per the admonition that the entire portfolio should be as well. I don’t plan to take any disbursements on the Mutual fund for 5 years, I keep plugging away with my weekly buys. I could retire today if I wanted but I currently have the best job I’ve ever had. I’m still physically able to surf, ski Alta’s black diamonds (knock on wood), so I’m thinking I’ll keep working for another year at least, but you never know.
The overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. could be well off by the time they are 60 or so IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO. If a person is relatively young and their income is at the lower end and they have to have a cell/smart phone, new car, go out to dinner every week, have pay TV and large screen high definition, etc., then that person doesn’t really want to. Far and away my main frivolous expense is alpine skiing. I did serve on ski patrol for two years so my wife and kids could ski free, but even at that over the decades I probably spent enough skiing (with children) to buy a couple Cadillac Escalades, which I would never want even if I was mega rich. Conversely I could actually surf more if I had almost no income/unemployed, that is a good hobby.
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Market looks 6 to 9 months out. St. Louis Fed President Bullard is projecting a sharp rebound by Q3. End of June transitionary period. Unemployment figures were expected to be this level, or worse.
Buy, buy, buy!
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Mutual funds are the only logical way for most people to own stock. Few people have the knowledge, time, or inclination to research and manage their own diverse portfolio that matches their risk needs and risk tolerance. I think it’s still true that most people are wise to have low load mutual funds that track the S&P and let it ride for as long as you can.
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Includes Zions Bank:
Not to be a nooge, but if they are being downgraded to junk due to liquidity problems and overexposure to low yield T-Bond debt, like SVB, it seems these banks are getting throttled by the market, itself.
Maybe it’s my experience with market history but it seems every time the yield curve in the bond market inverts (short term debt paying higher yields than long term debt) we have some banks fail. Last time it was the banks issuing “Liar Loan” mortgages. Nothing so far is pointing to an overexposure to loan defaults.
I am sure we will get the whole picture over time. That said, the fact they were exempted for the Big Bank stress tests does raise questions.
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