Author Topic: 401k plans during the corona virus recession  (Read 1458 times)

chimofroggy@yahoo.com

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401k plans during the corona virus recession
« on: March 19, 2020, 05:17:59 PM »
like most people,  my 401k plan was hit hard this last week.  Is the smart strategy to change the plan now to more Conservative investments or to stay the course?

TheHardenedInvestor

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2020, 05:20:08 PM »
Stay the course. Rebalance into the drop. If your just 100% in stocks, then just stay the course. Don’t even worry about it. Gonna be just fine.

dandarc

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2020, 05:28:36 PM »
Switching to a more conservative allocation after a drop is basically the opposite of what you should do. Lock in some of your losses if you do that.

Morning Glory

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2020, 05:29:51 PM »
LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!! Just stop looking at it for a while. Go outside. The market went back up after 2008. It will go back up soon. The worst thing you can do is monkey around with it.

wenchsenior

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2020, 07:05:24 PM »
DO NOT change to more conservative investments now! That will just lock in (what are currently only paper) losses and make them brutally real.  If you have a strategy for long-term investment STICK TO IT. That's what the long-term plan is for.



Steeze

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2020, 07:22:56 PM »
I’m doing the opposite - switched my purchases to 100% stock and am slowly trading bonds for stock each 5% downward move. Stocks on sale! Time to buy, not sell! Then again, I am operating under the assumption that we are within 10-20% of a bottom and also that 2 years from now The Top will return and rapture the believers.

mastrr

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2020, 08:52:21 PM »
For the time being I'm dropping my contribution % amount in half to bolster my "emergency fund" (but will keep my contributions 100% stock).  I don't have a steady salary and a large percentage of my income is dependent upon people buying things so I'm in a different position then someone with a steady salary.  In general, layoffs are also happening so that is always a possibility as well.  So right now I'm positing myself to be safe opposed to optimal because the last thing I want to do is sell what is currently invested.

maisymouser

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Re: 401k plans during the corona virus recession
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2020, 04:40:15 PM »
Yeah I am nearly 100% stocks as well but am reducing my contributions so that I can bolster my EF.