Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Dynamic Maximizers®
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Avoid Financial Ruin

November 10, 2010 By Dick Young

Did you know that the S&P 500 is down 5% since year-end 1999? That’s not just price; I’m including dividends here. What an atrocious return. And for the privilege of losing 5% of your capital, you’d have had to endure two of the most severe bear markets in history with peak-to-trough declines of 50% or more.

Investors who retired at year-end 1999, at the height of the tech bubble, undoubtedly had too much invested in the stock market. The weekly asset allocation survey conducted by the American Association of Individual Investors showed that in January of 2000, investors were putting close to 80% of their portfolios in equities—a record high. When the bulk of financial assets held by individuals in the U.S. are owned by those in or nearing retirement, an 80% allocation to stocks is scandalous. And if the average was almost 80%, you can be sure there were more than a few investors with their entire portfolios invested in stocks.

If you retired at year-end 1999 with a $500,000 portfolio invested in the S&P 500 index and decided to withdraw a modest $20,000 annually, adjusted for inflation each year, you would have only $230,000 today. After adjusting for 10 years’ worth of inflation, your initial $20,000 withdrawal would now amount to $25,600 or a staggering 11% of your portfolio. You’re doomed. You could either maintain your withdrawal rate and quickly deplete your portfolio, or take a colossal pay cut of 65% to reset your withdrawal rate to a more sustainable 4%. Either way, you face financial ruin.

To avoid such a disastrous scenario, all retired and soon-to-be retired investors should take a balanced approach. Your portfolio should include significant fixed-income holdings, a healthy allocation of global dividend-paying equities, and—in the current inflation-prone environment—a meaningful amount of hard assets and hard currencies.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • Four Questions You Should Ask Before Investing in Stocks
  • This is why You Should Avoid IPOs
  • Are You Investing in the Armored Truck of Financial Markets?
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Dick Young
Richard C. Young is the editor of Young's World Money Forecast, and a contributing editor to both Richardcyoung.com and Youngresearch.com.
Latest posts by Dick Young (see all)
  • PRICES SOAR: Diesel Shortage Could Cripple America’s Economy - May 13, 2022
  • Young’s Retirement Compounders Clearly Dominate! - April 26, 2022
  • The Magic of Compound Interest - April 5, 2022

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • MARKET CHAOS: This May Take Time, Here’s How to Prepare
  • Don’t Throw Your Bond Portfolio Out the Window
  • PRICES SOAR: Diesel Shortage Could Cripple America's Economy
  • You Can Do Better than Mutual Funds and ETFs with Your Cash
  • Your Survival Guy: “Sell in May, Buy After Labor Day?”
  • All-Powerful Money Managers Voting YOUR Money Targeted by Senate GOP
  • Institutional Investors Fall in Love with Oil, Again
  • Will Market Prices Soon Be Meaningful Again?
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • Consequences of Biden Killing the Keystone Pipeline
  • Are You Suffering from One of These Nutrient Deficiencies?
  • PRIMARIES: Trump Endorsed Candidates’ HUGE Night
  • “We Cannot Save Ukraine by Dooming the US Economy.”
  • What’s Ahead for America During Biden’s Last Years
  • BE VIGILANT: The Rats Are Scurrying in These Rough Markets
  • COERCION BY APOCALYPSE: The Great Reset Wants to Transform Society with Disaster
  • More Returnees than Refugees at Ukrainian Border
  • DIGITAL DOLLAR DOOMSDAY: The Wall Street Journal Is NOT Going to Tell You This
  • Musk to Break Silicon Valley’s Progressive Conformity?

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2022 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.