How Well Did 2017 Do For Your 401k/IRA ? Lets talk strategies!

Hey guys, now that 2017 is behind us, maybe we can discuss how well our retirement stuff or other investment accounts performed? No need for dollar figures, I think just discussing percentages is a neutral way to not turn this into a pissing contest. We ended 2017 with a 12.46% YTD return. Not too bad, but I played it pretty safe last year just due to, well a variety of issues. In hindsight I could of probably easily hit 15-18%+ had I not been as skiddish, but none of us has that information until its over. Its improving, 2016 we finished 9.52%. One thing is for certain, once we started self directing our growth got much better.

I am readjusting some of the investments this quarter to directed into faster growth. The Russel 1000 is just doing wonders, and now our account added this year an additional International equity fund, of which the one that was offered had performed best of all the indexes available. So this new one for sure is getting a bigger chunk of the pie.

This year, I am looking towards at least 15% and gunning for 18! Large Cap funds seem to be getting the bigger yields last year, and it looks to me like that trend will continue.

I am no professional, I still consider myself an amateur in directing our account. But the more I learn, the better I get. And seeing as we have been doing better returns for the past three years directing it ourselves vs. the broker doing it prior, I am looking forward to continue this game.

There is a big concern I have however. This bull rally is just , well its just not natural. I know there has to be some corrections due soon. FFS all the large caps individually are seeing insane share prices. Breaking records even. Where is the correction?? Even a novice knows it is coming at some point. I don't necessarily even mean the huge recession type corrections. Just the regular trenches that show up once or twice a year. It feels like I did not see a single one in 2017.

In any case, we continue to buy gold/silver on the dips, and sell 20% on some nice spikes for quick profit/liquidity. Holding on to the rest just fits for us. Thats our ratio. We buy dips, and when we see a good rally like the typical New Year one right now we shed 20% for some fun cash. Keeping 80% as our savings. We are permanent long on that anyways, trying to burn it into our kids minds as they grow and discuss with us the fundamentals of finance the importance in saving in physcial metal. No reason we cannot enjoy a bonus though when there is a spike.

I don't really want to get involved in a crypto discussion, as I am preferring to discuss traditional investments. So if you anybody wants to discuss that it is fine, but I will not be as to my own personal reservations against it.

So guys, howd yall do in 2017 and whats your strategy for 2018??

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I'm not an American.

a reply to: chr0naut

Do you at least have an investment account? Would you like to discuss strategies and returns you made for 2017?? Ideas for the future?

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I'm all about Vanguard Total Stock Market.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: chr0naut
Do you at least have an investment account? Would you like to discuss strategies and returns you made for 2017?? Ideas for the future?

When I was a child, I always believed that one would be rich if one were a millionaire.



I live in a place with a wonderful quality of living, I have contingencies and investments and properties.

... but I'm also aware that all these are false security. The truth is that it could evaporate at a moments notice. A despotic government, banking failures, market crash, war, pestilence and even just dumb luck in an unfair system.

Unlike in the recent revisions of many Middle Eastern regimes, the American people lack the will and capability to stand against their government when it works in unjust and corrupt ways (as revealed by the likes of Wikileaks and Snowden). The American government will escalate its abuses until there are forces that bring it into check. It actively seeks for war for profit. History is clear.

a reply to: Ameilia

I liked vanguard Windsor fund, there was another that did well for me, I've since departed with them unfortunately.

Heres a question: when do you think the next (probably orchestrated) market crash will occur?

I'd like to pull some money out before then.

I have my investments divided into two parts. I use the 100 - Age = Percentage in Growth model for most of my investing so I have roughly 50% in growth and 50% in income. The growth has done AMAZING this year.

I did an end of year rebalance and put most of my new money into my income side. It will protect my new cash from market crashes and even better it upped my monthly income.

Overall this has been a great year. It is the best I have had since the post 2008 recovery. If there IS a crash I will likely adjust more to my growth side to take advantage of the rebound.

The crashes always end up making me the most money in the long run. As people panic I slow and steady am a buyer of quality issues until the bottom happens.

Then I do it all over again.

I LOVE investments.

a reply to: worldstarcountry
I was pleased to learn that my small investment in the market returned just a tad over 13%. That is better than last year's 9%. My fund is fairly low risk but I did notice that some of the higher risk funds had risen by as much as 23%.
I'm recently widowed so I'm in a holding pattern for this year, not making any major decisions. I'll be adjusting to a lower income but with a fairly reasonable hope of beginning to collect Social Security in a couple of years.
I rely on the advice of an advisor who has been a friend since high school. He got us out of the market before the crash. I don't think I can ever thank him enough for that! We sold 90% of our fund and invested in real estate after the crash.
My kids haunt pawn shops to sniff out good deals on physical metals. It's their "mad" money.
Here's to an even better return for all of us in 2018!

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I moved my biggest retirement fund from US Equities into Emerging Markets (a Fidelity mutual fund), which is up something like 25% and doing phenomenal. The fund I bought was at something like 10.20 a share at beginning of the year and is up to 15.40 a share now (I didn't move over to this fund until a few months into the year though).

Strategies? Everyone has different needs and situations but I prefer higher risk for potentially higher payouts at my age and where I'm currently at.

I also have longer term positions but diversification, and trying to stay on top of the fast-moving markets so you can avoid getting sucked into another large "wealth transfer" when any one of these markets implodes

a reply to: worldstarcountry

How are you able to "manage" your retirement account yourself?

I've been interested in playing the markets on my own for quite some time but haven't found a viable method/resource to do so. I understand the fees for using something like Etrade are ridiculous...

I came out clean. Divested of everything except a green mutual. Sold my LLCs, stores and mfgs and totally committed now to being Ex. Producer of TV/film content.

Retirement.....

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
Hey guys, now that 2017 is behind us, maybe we can discuss how well our retirement stuff or other investment accounts performed? No need for dollar figures, I think just discussing percentages is a neutral way to not turn this into a pissing contest. We ended 2017 with a 12.46% YTD return. Not too bad, but I played it pretty safe last year just due to, well a variety of issues. In hindsight I could of probably easily hit 15-18%+ had I not been as skiddish, but none of us has that information until its over. Its improving, 2016 we finished 9.52%. One thing is for certain, once we started self directing our growth got much better.

I am readjusting some of the investments this quarter to directed into faster growth. The Russel 1000 is just doing wonders, and now our account added this year an additional International equity fund, of which the one that was offered had performed best of all the indexes available. So this new one for sure is getting a bigger chunk of the pie.

This year, I am looking towards at least 15% and gunning for 18! Large Cap funds seem to be getting the bigger yields last year, and it looks to me like that trend will continue.

I am no professional, I still consider myself an amateur in directing our account. But the more I learn, the better I get. And seeing as we have been doing better returns for the past three years directing it ourselves vs. the broker doing it prior, I am looking forward to continue this game.

There is a big concern I have however. This bull rally is just , well its just not natural. I know there has to be some corrections due soon. FFS all the large caps individually are seeing insane share prices. Breaking records even. Where is the correction?? Even a novice knows it is coming at some point. I don't necessarily even mean the huge recession type corrections. Just the regular trenches that show up once or twice a year. It feels like I did not see a single one in 2017.

In any case, we continue to buy gold/silver on the dips, and sell 20% on some nice spikes for quick profit/liquidity. Holding on to the rest just fits for us. Thats our ratio. We buy dips, and when we see a good rally like the typical New Year one right now we shed 20% for some fun cash. Keeping 80% as our savings. We are permanent long on that anyways, trying to burn it into our kids minds as they grow and discuss with us the fundamentals of finance the importance in saving in physcial metal. No reason we cannot enjoy a bonus though when there is a spike.

I don't really want to get involved in a crypto discussion, as I am preferring to discuss traditional investments. So if you anybody wants to discuss that it is fine, but I will not be as to my own personal reservations against it.

So guys, howd yall do in 2017 and whats your strategy for 2018??

Wait a minute, all the progressives on ATS told us that only rich people care about shareholder value and benefit from stock gains?

I think we are in a massive bubble, but my 401ks are booming so I guess I can't complain. I kind of missed out as I am loaded up on bonds for diversification. Wife is in the higher return equities.

a reply to: chr0naut
OK then you have no interest in discussing investment strategies, no problem.
a reply to: Harpua
There is speculation of some type of correction for 2018. Part of the problem is figuring out when. Some advisors are saying that this may be an ideal time to just sit and play it safe, cuz it could just happen at any moment.
a reply to: Metallicus

That sounds like a sound plan indeed. I am kind of thinking there is at least another quarter of returns to squeeze out before corrective actions show up. There is nothing like buying up eviscerated funds after a sudden crash! Olympic games tend to encourage stability as tensions between nations and markets ease for good sportsmanship. I have a feeling when they are over tensions will rise and markets will respond one way or another.

a reply to: FamCore
I agree, I am still in the beginning of my thirties. So I feel like I
can handle a little bit more risk. This year I am going for big. My hunch for year end gold was spot on for 2017, and even though I had good feelings about equities, I still played it safe because I am a newbie to self directing. Merryl Lynch offers a portal for us to self direct our funds with a limited number of indexes and options to choose from. This of course could have something to do with the employer who we have our 401 with. You should inquire by calling up your fund manager and asking them if they have a self direct option. We just login through their site and I move things around based on what feels right.

There is not as much diversity to pick from like the open market where we can choose specific stocks and companies, but after learning my way around a bit we have been doing better than leaving it to the company as previous.

a reply to: olaru12
That's great news! You planned well and the hard work is paying off. That's where we all hope to be once we get to your milestone.
a reply to: Edumakated
I dumped my stake in bonds at the end of the year. They are just too slow, and are going negative. Was like the only part of our investments that was losing, although not losing big. But losing nonetheless.
a reply to: diggindirt
I think 2018 is going to depend on how well we time getting out of risk and waiting for the correction and then preying on the massacre.