Hello all - I am trying to figure out how to best optimize my investing strategy. I'm at 100% equities now for my after tax savings/investments and I"m thinking about getting some bonds. But I'm wondering if Bonds are ideal (or even necessary) during the accumulation stage? It seem like during this stage, stocks are a win/win - if the market goes up, my portfolio grows. If it goes down, then "yay, stocks are on sale and I can buy more". It seems like you don't really even need bonds during this phase, but rather they would become more useful during FIRE, to provide more stability, especially during the first 5 or 10 years or so.
So is that correct? That sticking with high levels of equities during accumulation gets you greatest return (and greatest volatility), while brining in bonds later during FIRE makes more sense? Or am I missing something here?
Other info - I'm 44 years old, I max out my 401k with a 6% match from my company into a Fidelity/Vanguard Target 2035 fund. I also have a Roth IRA that I max out which is 100% VTSAX (stock), plus an after tax investment account also 100% VTSAX.
The breakdown for the 401k Target 2035 fund is:
Cash 0.82%
Domestic Bond 11.59%
Preferred Stock 0.04%
Foreign Bond 6.59%
Foreign Stock 31.54%
Others 0.25%
Domestic Stock 49.17%