Aggressive verses Conservative
I'm 68 years old with an IRA that I don't contribute to but is managed by a financial firm with some aggressiveness. I pay a monthly fee to manage the account around $450.00/month. I would like to protect the monies I currently have in this account especially if another downturn of the economy erodes the current balance. Question 1 - How do I best protect the money that is currently on-hand? Question 2 - I believe the fee I'm paying is too high and should drop down to the minimum? Thank you.
Terry Says
Unless you have well over $500,000 in your account, you are paying WAY too much money! And at age 68, you should not be "aggressive" -- you should be moderately conservative. Again this is assuming you are not worth millions! I'm glad I decided to answer questions on Saturday night -- and I hope you take action on Monday morning! I would suggest during the current election season, that you have 25% in cash -- especially if the rest of your portfolio is invested "aggressively." Who knows that we might have a huge rally when the election results are in -- or a spectacular decline.. I don't know if you are in stocks or mutual funds, but it is YOUR money and your right to give this order on Monday morning. I know nothing about your personal situation, so take this advice with a huge grain of salt. If you have a lot of chicken money" outside of your IRA, then maybe only have 20 percent in a money market fund inside your IRA. But in three years you will have to start taking RMDs -- and you won't want to be forced to sell if the market is lower. Then, you can decide whether to "roll" your IRA to Fidelity or Vanguard or T. Rowe Price -- all of which will cost you less than half a percent annually, and all of which will work with you to create an appropriate low-cost portfolio based on a far more extensive discussion of your goals, risk tolerance and total financial picture. To recap: Step one is to get some liquidity now-- especially if you do not have other liquid assets. And step 2 is to get less expensive and more appropriate advice based on a more extensive review of your goals, risk tolerance and total financial picture. You can get that from either of the three firms mentioned above. Please act on these suggestions if you have limited resources. "
