Is your retirement account built to survive a Stock Market Crash?
I would imagine that you remember the stock market meltdowns in 2001 and 2008. People who retired in the year 2000 were extremely unlucky. Their timing could not have been worse.
The stock market dropped by 49% in 2001 and 2002. And just when the market recovered in 2007, it dropped by 54% in 2008. Prices did not recover from the 2008 crash until 2013.
People who retired in the early 2000’s had their retirement plans destroyed.
If you are in retirement or nearing retirement, how would your investments do in an ugly bear market?
Stock prices are at all-time highs, and many are worried about excessive valuations. In fact, the last time the stock market was overvalued by this much was in 1999 before the dot-com crash.
As a result, it can be an uncomfortable time to be an older retirement investor. The market will recover from any potential market crash, but it can take up to four years on average. Older investors don’t have the time to simply “Buy & Hold & Suffer”.
Nobody knows exactly when the next ugly bear market will occur, but it will happen.
What are you supposed to do? You learned in 2022 that sticking with the plain-vanilla investment strategies recommended by the investment industry don’t protect you from major losses. Bonds lost as much as stocks in 2022.
Panicking is not the answer either. The worst thing you could do is to invest emotionally and get out of the market at the wrong time.
The only good solution is a disciplined and proven approach to managing your retirement investments.
I have created a smarter way for older people to invest.
The investment professionals put you in a cookie-cutter portfolio that includes a mix of stock and bond funds that produces mediocre returns and does not always keep your money protected when markets fall. They ask people to stick with this strategy through thick and thin. They only do a simple rebalance once per year.
After decades of research and testing, I discovered that the stock market goes through three different trading cycles over roughly 8-year periods. Utilizing a different investment strategy in each trading cycle produces significantly better investment results (potentially doubling your investment returns).
Most importantly, my proven and effective investment strategy protects your savings during the dreaded bear market cycle. Bear markets lead to average losses of about 37% on average. The bear markets of 2001 and 2008 produced losses of roughly 50%.
My system has proven that you can have both high growth in your investments AND protection against losses at the same time.
Today, I would like to give you a free copy of the latest research on how to protect your life savings. This guide will show you exactly how we achieve such outstanding results for our clients.
Click here to get your FREE copy of this important report for older investors.
Stay Disciplined My Friends,
Phil
Disclaimers The Beyond Buy & Hold newsletter is published and provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not advising, and will not advise you personally, concerning the nature, potential, value, or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. Beyond Buy & Hold recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision.
Investing in the financial products discussed in the Newsletter involves risk. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Actual results will vary widely given a variety of factors such as experience, skill, risk mitigation practices, and market dynamics.
Many people approaching retirement aren’t sure whether they’ve saved enough to live comfortably. Investing and money management can feel intimidating and confusing, which often leads to anxiety and uncertainty.
One of the biggest reasons for this confusion is that people tend to focus too much on the size of their retirement nest egg. While the amount you save is important, the income your nest egg produces in retirement matters even more.
Another challenge is poor expense planning. If you’re good at budgeting during your working years, you’ll likely be good at managing expenses in retirement. If you’re not a strong budgeter yet, now is the time to start.
The good news: retirement planning is simpler than most people think. It really comes down to just three factors:
Your savings on day one of retirement – your nest egg.
Your expected annual investment returns – determined by your investment strategy.
Your monthly spending and expenses in retirement.
We offer a free retirement planning service for our followers. With just ten minutes of data gathering, we can provide you with a personalized retirement forecast in about three minutes. Take advantage of this free offer to see exactly where you stand.
Your Nest Egg
If you’re still working, you’ll need to estimate what your retirement savings balance will be on the first day of retirement. A simple spreadsheet can do the job.
For example, if you’re 60 and plan to retire at 65, you only need five rows—one for each year. Start with your current savings balance, then add your annual contributions and any company match. Finally, estimate your annual investment returns to project how your money will grow.
Your Estimated Annual Investment Returns
Your investment returns are dictated by your strategy. We can review your portfolio and create a reasonably accurate forecast.
Your investment strategy is the single most important factor in determining your financial health in retirement. Most people fall into one of three categories:
Conservative Investor – Typically shifts into bonds, averaging about 5% per year. Unfortunately, this approach often struggles to keep up with inflation.
Follower – Relies on the standard “asset allocation” approach or Target Date funds, with average annual returns around 6.5%. While this strategy may offer slightly better returns than conservative investors, it also exposes retirees to significant losses during bear markets.
Aggressive Index Investor – Allocates most or all money to top stock index funds like the S&P 500, achieving about 9% annual returns over the long run. While this looks strong on paper, it’s risky for people over 60. A bear market just before or early in retirement can devastate your savings—a risk known as the sequence of returns problem.
Because these common strategies all fall short, I created my own unique investing system. Out of necessity, I developed a better way to invest for retirement—one that offers the potential for over 13% annual returns while also avoiding large losses in bear markets.
For investors over 60, avoiding a 40% loss in a market meltdown is critical. My system makes it possible to both protect your life savings and dramatically increase your retirement returns.
Your Expenses in Retirement
This is often the hardest piece to estimate, but it’s crucial. You need a clear picture of your monthly and annual spending.
Your expenses will dictate how much you must withdraw from your retirement accounts. Don’t rely on outdated methods like the old “4% Rule.” Instead, build a realistic spending plan tailored to your lifestyle and needs.
Other important factors include how and when to sell investments in retirement, as well as how to manage cash. We cover these details in our free retirement planning session.
The Bottom Line
By focusing on three core areas—your nest egg, your investment strategy, and your expenses—you can gain clarity about your retirement future. Most people don’t do a detailed analysis, leaving them uncertain about whether they’re truly prepared.
But with the right planning, you can know exactly where you stand—and take control of your financial future.
I would like to offer you a FREE retirement planning session where I can review your current situation and show you where you stand. These sessions are quick and painless, and people get a lot out of them. There are no obligations or commitments on your part.
Click here to schedule your free session today. You should know where you stand with your retirement finances.
Stay Disciplined My Friends,
Phil
Disclaimers The Beyond Buy & Hold newsletter is published and provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not advising, and will not advise you personally, concerning the nature, potential, value, or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. Beyond Buy & Hold recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision.
Investing in the financial products discussed in the Newsletter involves risk. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Actual results will vary widely given a variety of factors such as experience, skill, risk mitigation practices, and market dynamics.
We are about one week away from a potential US government shutdown. At this point, the House is not in session, and the Senate shows no signs of coming up with a solution.
Most of the time after the political drama, the legislative bodies reach a short-term “non-solution” that extends government funding for three to six months. They essentially just kick the can down the road.
But what if it happens this time? How will it affect your investments? How might it affect the stock market?
The good news is that government shutdowns have not been bad for the stock market.
In the last 50 years, there have been 22 government shutdowns and those shutdowns are typically very brief. After political points have been made and both parties fight to dominate the headlines, the shutdowns end in an average of 8 days. The most common shutdowns last just 2 days.
I am not minimizing the pain and the chaos of government shutdowns as millions of people are impacted. Government shutdowns are scary for government workers and many others who depend on government resources. Our political leaders should never let the government go out of business even temporarily. This post is only about the potential impact on the stock market.
The stock market actually gains an average of 0.3% during government closures. 55% of the time, stock prices go up and 45% of the time stock prices go down slightly. Even in longer government suspensions, stocks have usually performed well. The last shutdown happened during Trump’s first term, and it lasted for 34 days. The stock market gained 10% during that government closure.
Every situation is a little different, however. There has never been a government shutdown when stocks were overvalued by more than 20%. September is usually a tough month for the stock market but prices are up 3% in the current month. With tariff uncertainty and inflation worries and unemployment concerns, no one wants to mess with the current success.
Another comforting statistic is that 12 months after government closures, the stock market has posted gains almost 90% of the time. The average price level one year after the halt is a gain of almost 13%.
There are no guarantees in the stock market particularly in the short term, but history tells us that there is no need for panic as we watch the headlines over the next week.
Stay Disciplined My Friends,
Phil
Disclaimers The Beyond Buy & Hold newsletter is published and provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not advising, and will not advise you personally, concerning the nature, potential, value, or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. Beyond Buy & Hold recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision.
Investing in the financial products discussed in the Newsletter involves risk. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Actual results will vary widely given a variety of factors such as experience, skill, risk mitigation practices, and market dynamics.
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