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Down 10% in 401K for October

Posted on 11/9/18 at 8:27 pm
Posted by caill430
Da Dirty Dell
Member since Jul 2005
1103 posts
Posted on 11/9/18 at 8:27 pm
I have invested very aggressively with my 401K over the years, but lost 10% in October alone. I haven't seen a drop like that since 2008. Should i keep my eyes closed and let it correct, or should I start looking at alternatives?
Posted by LSURussian
Member since Feb 2005
126962 posts
Posted on 11/9/18 at 8:42 pm to
quote:

and let it correct,
The market has already risen since then.
Posted by kciDAtaE
Member since Apr 2017
15742 posts
Posted on 11/9/18 at 8:55 pm to
You said you have invested aggressively. You had to know this was possible with that type of approach. If this keeps you up at night, get more conservative.

Your investments should never keep you up at night. If so, rethink your strategy
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89511 posts
Posted on 11/9/18 at 10:53 pm to
If you buy all the time and sell at the bottom, you're going to lose your arse.

If you're not in your retirement window (which I must assume, as you are "very aggressive") - literally don't worry about it a single second. Your dollar cost averaging will minimize losses and maximize gains.

If you ARE in your retirement window, you'll want to wait for the price recovery and then completely rethink your strategy.
This post was edited on 11/12/18 at 9:40 pm
Posted by weagle99
Member since Nov 2011
35893 posts
Posted on 11/10/18 at 6:42 am to
You don’t lose until you sell.
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82017 posts
Posted on 11/10/18 at 7:36 am to
quote:

very aggressively
does this mean you've invested a lot or you've invested in high riak/high reward stocks?
If the former, stay the course. If the latter, might want to rebalance depending on your time horizon
Posted by Jag_Warrior
Virginia
Member since May 2015
4086 posts
Posted on 11/10/18 at 10:43 am to
quote:

I have invested very aggressively with my 401K over the years, but lost 10% in October alone. I haven't seen a drop like that since 2008. Should i keep my eyes closed and let it correct, or should I start looking at alternatives?


Depends.

Are you closer to 25 or 65?
Posted by Zachary
Member since Jan 2007
1631 posts
Posted on 11/12/18 at 2:51 pm to
Seriously -- and I would imagine this topic may have been discussed on this site numerous times -- but what are your thoughts on how far before retirement a person should dramatically reduce his equity holdings?
Posted by UpstairsComputer
Prairieville
Member since Jan 2017
1574 posts
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:24 pm to
5-7 years depending on where we are in the market cycle. We are currently nearing the end of this cycle. I would say within 2 years (at this point) and risk should be greatly pared back. Nothing wrong with taking gains. Even with the 10% pullback OP wrote about, we're all still up - or should be - several hundred percent from 2009 lows.
Posted by 1609tiger
Member since Feb 2011
3227 posts
Posted on 11/15/18 at 6:17 pm to
So what would you do if your favorite liquor, than rarely goes on sale, was suddenly 10 percent off?
Posted by nolaandy
Metry
Member since Dec 2013
452 posts
Posted on 11/15/18 at 6:33 pm to
quote:

So what would you do if your favorite liquor, than rarely goes on sale, was suddenly 10 percent off?


Depends. Does it taste different?
Posted by EA6B
TX
Member since Dec 2012
14754 posts
Posted on 11/15/18 at 6:36 pm to
quote:

Seriously -- and I would imagine this topic may have been discussed on this site numerous times -- but what are your thoughts on how far before retirement a person should dramatically reduce his equity holdings?


There is no simple answer, everyone's situation is unique. Things like do you have any other sources of retirement income such as a pension, will your portfolio be large enough that you could tolerate large swings in the market, and still maintain your standard of living in retirement? Which would cause you more mental anguish, having your portfolio decline in value 50% during retirement, or missing out on possible 50% growth, and a multitude of other questions.
Posted by foshizzle
Washington DC metro
Member since Mar 2008
40599 posts
Posted on 11/15/18 at 8:58 pm to
quote:

I have invested very aggressively with my 401K over the years, but lost 10% in October alone.


If you've invested very aggressively over the years, then you've probably gained a good bit more than that outside October.
Posted by Ric Flair
Charlotte
Member since Oct 2005
13653 posts
Posted on 11/15/18 at 10:26 pm to
I see people bitching about the huge loss lately. I’m in a target fund (in my 401k) and haven’t lost nearly as much as I would have expected. I’m kind of pissed off that I wasn’t aggressive enough to begin with.
Posted by caill430
Da Dirty Dell
Member since Jul 2005
1103 posts
Posted on 11/16/18 at 1:39 am to
Are you closer to 25 or 65?

48 and have been investing in 401k since I was 25. I try not to look at the fluctuations, but 2008 and my age have gotten me antsy
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