Thread: corporate bonds

I had some in 401k and with the stocks going crazy I was losing it all. I switched it over to a secure fund but it is not going to gain anything there, but I wont lose it either.

Originally Posted by doggone

now good grief take this with a grain of salt cause I have very little money and know squat about investing. But I put some money in a 401K with an investment firm under a group of investments considered moderate risk. I had it in there during the recession. I sit it out while the market was down....as soon as it was back up I rolled it into an annuity which is suppose to be lower risk. But anyway by not cashing out when it was down and waiting for it to come back ....I ended up with I think it was around an 18 percent return over five years. A lot of the guys in the high risk stuff lost a lot. And a couple guys got scared and cashed out and lost big.

The truth is we came within a whisker of a full blown depression which may have wiped it all out. Their just electronic files now.Somebody may just hit the big ERASE button one of these days. What you gonna do? Risk in everything.

Lets just say I put 15 thousand in for a year in a decent index mutual fund, about how much on average might it gain in a year?

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

First, I should have said index mutual funds, since that's what they are. They are a type of mutual fund that buys a list (or index) of stocks, bonds, commodities -- almost whatever you want.

The most famous index fund is the Vanguard S&P 500 Index fund. It buys all 500 stocks in the S&P 500 (which includes a lot of very big, well-known companies.)

John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard and a pioneer in index funds, said don't worry about finding a needle in the haystack (that one awesome stock.) Instead, buy the whole haystack.

One index I own is the Vanguard Balanced Index. It owns 60% stocks and 40% bonds. It owns thousands of stocks and thousands of bonds, so you get a lot of diversification. Also, index funds are very cheap -- much cheaper than most mutual funds.

For most people, I think index funds are the best way to invest.

Originally Posted by crappieseeker

Lets just say I put 15 thousand in for a year in a decent index mutual fund, about how much on average might it gain in a year?

I have no idea. You might lose money. It all depends on the type of fund and what the market does in the next year. Here are the returns for Vanguard funds:

https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual...th-end-returns

As you can see, the returns are all over the place, and many of them are negative.

What is your goal? Are you saving for retirement? Kid's education? Saving for down payment on a house?

A good rule of thumb is don't invest in stocks if you will need the money in the next five years.

If you want safety, a CD or Treasury bond is the way to go, but the interest rates are low.

Do you have debt? Paying off consumer debt (credit cards, student loans, car loan, boat loan) or mortgage debt gives you a safe, guaranteed return equal to the interest rate on the debt. IMO, you should not even consider the stock market if you have consumer debt. Paying off consumer debt is a far better use of your money.

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

I have no idea. You might lose money. It all depends on the type of fund and what the market does in the next year. Here are the returns for Vanguard funds:

https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual...th-end-returns

As you can see, the returns are all over the place, and many of them are negative.

What is your goal? Are you saving for retirement? Kid's education? Saving for down payment on a house?

A good rule of thumb is don't invest in stocks if you will need the money in the next five years.

If you want safety, a CD or Treasury bond is the way to go, but the interest rates are low.

Do you have debt? Paying off consumer debt (credit cards, student loans, car loan, boat loan) or mortgage debt gives you a safe, guaranteed return equal to the interest rate on the debt. IMO, you should not even consider the stock market if you have consumer debt. Paying off consumer debt is a far better use of your money.

I make my living as a Financial Advisor, and this advice is spot on IMO!

All the CD rates I have checked the money I would save on gas going to put the money in a CD is more than the CD would return lol. All my vehicles and boat is paid for and I have no credit card debt. I do have a mortgage, which would be a good investment but not sure how long I will keep this home so I do not want to pay more on it right now. Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by ET Fish

I make my living as a Financial Advisor, and this advice is spot on IMO!

Thanks. I'm strictly an amateur, but I've read a lot of good books written by people a lot smarter than me.