Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX)

[And!ru7]

As I’ve been learning about how to become a DIY investor, I’ve been contributing to the Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX).  I just contributed 3,000 this month.  Is it a bad idea to invest in this fund right now whose NAV is 36.81 USD per share? It seems its value is at an all-time high.  What if the price drops?  Also, is this an okay fund to contribute to when your at the age of 33?

[FrugalSaver]

As I’ve been learning about how to become a DIY investor, I’ve been contributing to the Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX).  I just contributed 3,000 this month.  Is it a bad idea to invest in this fund right now whose NAV is 36.81 USD per share? It seems its value is at an all-time high.  What if the price drops?  Also, is this an okay fund to contribute to when your at the age of 33?

I'd recommend spending a few hours reading bogoeheads.com and perusing their wiki page. Wel worth the price of admission.

JLCollins is a good read too

[AdrianC]

Do the reading suggested and poke around here and on Bogleheads. Maybe read some books by Bill Bernstein. In the meantime continue to contribute to this fund. At the end of all you might just decide that you've been right all along.

FWIW I have a similar asset allocation to VFIFX, though with a motley collection of funds and stocks spread all over the place.

[MDM]

As I’ve been learning about how to become a DIY investor, I’ve been contributing to the Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX).  I just contributed 3,000 this month. 
Is it a bad idea to invest in this fund right now whose NAV is 36.81 USD per share? No way to know for this - or any other - fund.
It seems its value is at an all-time high. Because, on average, the market goes up, being "at an all-time high" is not unusual.
What if the price drops? Then it drops.  Is there a follow-up question?
Also, is this an okay fund to contribute to when your at the age of 33? Yes.

Yes, those answers are a bit terse, but if you follow previous posters' advice and look at things such as Bogleheads® investing start-up kit and Stock Series, they may make more sense than they do now. :)

[Indexer]

+1 to everything said so far.


Side note: the NAV of a fund is a unit of measurement for accounting purposes. It doesn't tell you if the fund is good or bad, or high or low. The returns, the change in NAV over time, is what you want to measure.

[mrteacher]

Interesting timing - anyone know why VFIFX just had such a big dip?

Seems odd to me as VTSAX did not dip, and this happened on the day VFIFX paid dividends.

[Radagast]

Quarterly dividend?

[mrteacher]

Quarterly dividend?

VFIFX pays yearly.

I just don't get why VFIFX dropped 1.6% when none of the funds it is made up of dropped.

[boarder42]

I'd read what has been posted and then build your own AA to get whatever you desire. Typically it's cheaper to build an AA than use a target date fund

[AdrianC]

Quarterly dividend?

VFIFX pays yearly.

I just don't get why VFIFX dropped 1.6% when none of the funds it is made up of dropped.

It's just timing.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=INT&FundId=0699&ps_disable_redirect=true#tab=4

VFIFX paid an annual distribution equal to 1.9% of share price on 12/27/17. The underlying funds pay quarterly dividends. VTSAX was a week before.

[mrteacher]

Quarterly dividend?

VFIFX pays yearly.

I just don't get why VFIFX dropped 1.6% when none of the funds it is made up of dropped.

It's just timing.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=INT&FundId=0699&ps_disable_redirect=true#tab=4

VFIFX paid an annual distribution equal to 1.9% of share price on 12/27/17. The underlying funds pay quarterly dividends. VTSAX was a week before.

Sorry for not following (and for hi-jacking the thread). So is the VFIFX drop as a result of the dividend? Just not sure exactly what lead to it.

[boarder42]

Quarterly dividend?

VFIFX pays yearly.

I just don't get why VFIFX dropped 1.6% when none of the funds it is made up of dropped.

It's just timing.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=INT&FundId=0699&ps_disable_redirect=true#tab=4

VFIFX paid an annual distribution equal to 1.9% of share price on 12/27/17. The underlying funds pay quarterly dividends. VTSAX was a week before.

Sorry for not following (and for hi-jacking the thread). So is the VFIFX drop as a result of the dividend? Just not sure exactly what lead to it.

Yes when a dividend is paid the share price decreases by the dividend. Dividends aren't magical money