March 27, 2020 – Wow, I’m in a writing mood these days. A second post this week! Here are a few random thoughts about the current situation. All the things on my mind right now that might be too short to put into a separate blog. Since you’re likely all sitting at home feeling bored, I thought you might enjoy this… Continue reading “Some Random Thoughts on the State of the World”
Month: March 2020
Dealing with a Bear Market in Retirement – SWR Series Part 37
March 25, 2020 – In my post last week, I looked at how the 2020 Bear Market will impact folks saving for (early) retirement. But I deferred my recommendations on how current retirees will optimally adjust to the new realities. So, here we go, a new installment of the Safe Withdrawal Series, now 37 posts strong!
Nothing I write here today should be shocking news to people who have read the other 36 parts, but having it all summarized in one place plus some new simulations and perspectives is certainly a worthwhile exercise. In a nutshell, I argue that if you’ve done your homework before you retired, not even a bear market, not even this bear market will derail your retirement. Depending on what approach people chose, some retirees might even increase their spending target now.
Let’s take a look…
Continue reading “Dealing with a Bear Market in Retirement – SWR Series Part 37”
It’s a Bear Market now, all right! But what kind of bear will it be?
March 18, 2020 – Well, there you have it! Just after I wrote a post two weeks ago pointing out we hadn’t even reached a Bear Market yet, all major U.S. indices, including the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, tanked and fell into Bear Market territory last week and even touched the -30% mark after the precipitous fall on Monday.
So, it’s a Bear Market now, all right! But not all Bear Markets are created equal. This begs the question…
What KIND of bear will this be?
A little cuddly Panda Bear like in the picture above? Or the fearsome Grizzly Bear? Here are some of my thoughts and reflections on the Bear Market…
Continue reading “It’s a Bear Market now, all right! But what kind of bear will it be?”
Feeling scared already? It’s not even a Bear Market as of March 4! (But it became one a week later!)
Update (3/13/2020):
Well, it is a Bear Market as of this week! We dipped well below the -20% line on March 12 due to the awful 10% meltdown that day. But we also recovered very nicely on Friday the 13th, of all days!!! I’m putting together some notes about my thoughts. To be published on Wednesday, March 18. Stay tuned! Good luck everybody! Stay invested! 🙂
Original Post (3/4/2020)
Volatility is back! Did it feel a little bit like a bear market last week? Actually, that wasn’t even a bear market, only a correction so far. Hence the title picture with the Koala “Bear,” which is not a bear at all but a marsupial. But it still felt like a mini-bear-market, didn’t it?
So, I thought it’s a good time to write a response to some of the questions I’ve been getting over the last few days:
- How bad is this event compared to other corrections? How long will this last?
- Should I sell my stocks now?
- Is this a good buying opportunity?
- How did some of the “exotic” investment styles fare during this volatile time (Yield Shield, Merriman’s Small-Cap Value)?
- What does this all mean for my retirement plans?
- Did your leveraged option writing strategy blow up already?
So many questions! Let’s shed some light on them…