For long term 401k investors under 55, it makes no sense to try and time the moving of funds, in my opinion.
Through all the ups and downs i think it is still averaging 7 percent a year.
Remember when the dow was a few thousand :)
I agree with you.
Over the long haul things average out.
The market can’t and won’t go up forever.
Frankly, I have no idea how the market rose this high in light of the economic stagnation and unemployment.
We’re still earning 5- 5.5 percent on stocks.
Mutal funds are doing less but they have most of our investments.
As one fairly recently retired I ditto your remarks and remember the 1987 crash and the crap during the 1970s. Having said that one must always be ready for a sell-off and either be willing to ride it out or not invest in the first place. I think the only money one invests in the market should be funds you are willing to leave alone for 10 years or more.
I think the hardest thing is not the ups and downs of the market but having the discipline to save enough money to retire. I had to increase my savings rate to 30% in the last 10 years to compensate for money not saved in my first 10 years. If people save 15-20% of their money for 40 years and spread the money across a balanced mix of assets they should be in pretty good shape.
Over the past 100+ yrs, stocks have returned about 9% per year when you include dividends. The key is to invest regularly over the course of your working years and ignore the ups and downs. Here’s a neat calculator that shows the return on stocks, with data reaching back to the late 1800s => https://www.measuringworth.com/DJIA_SP_NASDAQ/