Need Help Investing

[secret squirrel]

My husband has given me free rein with our TSP funds. He has about 3 - 5 more yrs to work and then he will hit the 42 yrs and will retire. He does nothing with the tsp except contribute to it. So I have been looking around this site and reading as much as possible.

I have some questions about some of the post that I read... it looks like y'all are talking about specific companies stock that you buy so I am assuming that you are also trading stock outside of TSP. Is this correct?

What is Birch-Mode?

I know everyone has their own system for investing but how do I know when and where to put the money? Is there are special thing that I am looking for on the news? Like interest rates going up or down.... trouble overseas... obama doing another speech?

Please advise. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[law87]

My husband has given me free rein with our TSP funds. He has about 3 - 5 more yrs to work and then he will hit the 42 yrs and will retire. He does nothing with the tsp except contribute to it. So I have been looking around this site and reading as much as possible.

I have some questions about some of the post that I read... it looks like y'all are talking about specific companies stock that you buy so I am assuming that you are also trading stock outside of TSP. Is this correct?

What is Birch-Mode?

I know everyone has their own system for investing but how do I know when and where to put the money? Is there are special thing that I am looking for on the news? Like interest rates going up or down.... trouble overseas... obama doing another speech?

Please advise. Any advice is appreciated.

Birch-mode is bassically a name people gave to a member on this board "birchtree". He is a perma-bull aka people who thinks the market will always go up and never crash. People like him will always look at the market as cheap, they will buy every chance they get. Birch is a successful guy, he has money to blow, i rather go with premium service to get every edge i can get.

The stock market is very complex, it takes decades of studying to make money. I suggest you look at one of the premium services here, it will help you rather than trying to figure the market out.

 

[Birchtree]

I believe that Birch-Mode is a reference to being invested at all times - a disciplined approach that is the mantra of the buy and hold strategy. When it rains I'm all in all the time and when the sun shines I'm still all in all the time. It's a great approach when you can dollar cost average your purchases and accumulate shares. I've never had a system and never wanted a system, so I'm essentially system free. You should definitely learn before you churn - this board likes to do trading in and out. I plan for the long term and stick to my plan often utilizing my sticky pants to help keep me centered.

 

[k0nkuzh0n]

With only a few years left, I certainly wouldn't do anything risky. I'd either keep all of it in the G, all in the F, or pay for a premium service. At these levels and less than 5 years till retirement, I certainly wouldn't go all in.

 

[nnuut]

Not me, I'm retired and still try and make MORE! Damn the torpedoes.

 

[Birchtree]

TINA - there is no alternative. If you want gains you have to be in the game. The easiest approach is to go 100% C fund to include contributions - the cycle is now right for outperformance of large cap shares. You could easily be looking at six more years of equity growth and the C fund covers 500 of the best companies available. My wife has her defined contribution plan following an SPX index - she is 100% all in and the money is flowing like a fine wine. A position of multi-thousands of shares in this bull market makes all the difference.

 

[Intrepid_Timer]

The way Birch is talking, it's a good thing this isn't 2007 as your husband would have lost over a third of his retirement money within the next year. You never know when another 2008 will come along, maybe never. What I do know is that not everyone can wait 4-5 years to make all those gains back, hopefully.

 

[law87]

$200-300 a year for premium service, I certainly got my money worth and I always make more than the average Joe on my retirement (more than 8%) if you are fine with earning 1-3% a year just put it all in the G fund and never look back, because if you do, you will notice the gains you missed out on the year. On the other hand, if there's a crash in the stock market, you can point, laugh and call me a loser.

 

[Khotso]

Not me, I'm retired and still try and make MORE! Damn the torpedoes.View attachment 27155

Ditto here Tina. For me the keys are: (1) having more than what I absolutely rock bottom need in my TSP/retirement account to get my wife and I through the next 20-30 years somewhat comfortably, so I feel okay about (2) taking reasonable risk. As law87 said, take a look at the Premium Services here. The price is well worth the reasonable risk guidance you'll get.

 

[k0nkuzh0n]

Not me, I'm retired and still try and make MORE! Damn the torpedoes.

But you are also not posting asking where to start. If a person knows the risk/rewards and they are ok with it... by all means, trade till you drop! :laugh:

 

[secret squirrel]

Birchtree...Thank you for the information you have provided me tonight. You mentioned the easiest approach is to go 100% into C funds..... so right now the large companies are doing better than the small to medium companies (S funds)? How do you know this... what should I be looking that would tell me that large companies are doing better?

I am already retired from civil service so my husband and I will both receive our pensions. He basically said the TSP money is just play money.. so I guess I really want to play but I want to play smartly.

I also want to thank everyone else who shared their information with me.

 

[Birchtree]

Most information is provided by people that follow market history - for example, Ned Davis Research and Doug Short as well as Laszlo Birinyi. You just have to look for it. We are in a possible multi-decade mega trend secular bull market that will soothe out many mistakes. There are a plethora of market gurus out there - guys like Ralph Acampora, Ed Yardeni, Stan Weinstein to name a few. They make their living providing data. And I read The Wall Street Journal daily. You might consider a subscription to Barrons - they publish weekly data. Barry Ritholtz is another one to watch.

 

[coastalite]

My husband has given me free rein with our TSP funds. He has about 3 - 5 more yrs to work and then he will hit the 42 yrs and will retire. Please advise. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi, I'm not really giving advice... just offering something to think about... If you look at the TSP's L2020 Fund, for example, it is a Fund for people who will begin withdrawing their money from 2015 through 2024.

As of Jan 2014, the L2020 Fund's allocation is about 40G/7F/28C/9S/16I.

If you FF 3 years to Jan 2017, the allocation is about 52G/7F/22C/7S/12I.

If you FF 5 years from now to Jan 2019, the allocation becomes even more conservative: 65G/6F/16C/5S/8I.

Once L2020 reaches full maturity in 2020, it will actually BECOME the L Income Fund - which is a Fund choice designed for people currently retired.

The L Income Fund's allocation is: 74G/6F/12C/3S/5I.

Some say these target funds have what is called a "glide path" built in - which is (in theory) designed to take you through retirement with 80% in Cash/Bonds (74G/6F) and 20% in Stocks (which will allow you the chance to try to beat inflation and hopefully experience enough growth to help get you through retirement). I'm not saying or recommending that you should go with an L Fund - I'm just pointing out their allocations.

If, for example, you decide to play it safe & go w/no risk and move 100% to the G Fund - then your nest egg won't keep up with inflation.

So, many theorize that it might be wise to continue putting some of that nest egg to work for you WHILE in retirement.

However, what you decide to do, I would assume would be based on the overall big picture and your risk tolerance, among several other variables - such as Social Security income, other investments and/or debts, your AGI, tax strategy, etc. All kinds of stuff to consider. If you both truly don't know what to do, it might be wise to seek some type of fee-based professional advice (of a fiduciary nature: someone w/no stake in any of your financial assets & has only YOUR best intentions at hand). Maybe a financial planner or an estate planner? I don't know, but if they try to sell you something - RUN!

 

[wavecoder]

What is Birch-Mode?

Birch-Mode = fully invested / bullish on the market

 

[JTH]

My husband has given me free rein with our TSP funds. He has about 3 - 5 more yrs to work and then he will hit the 42 yrs and will retire. He does nothing with the tsp except contribute to it. So I have been looking around this site and reading as much as possible.

I have some questions about some of the post that I read... it looks like y'all are talking about specific companies stock that you buy so I am assuming that you are also trading stock outside of TSP. Is this correct?

What is Birch-Mode?

I know everyone has their own system for investing but how do I know when and where to put the money? Is there are special thing that I am looking for on the news? Like interest rates going up or down.... trouble overseas... obama doing another speech?

Please advise. Any advice is appreciated.

Welcome to the Forum

There is no single correct answer to your question, "Wise man said only fools rush" Elvis was right, before you do anything I would examine what you've already done. Look at your historical returns and compare them to the benchmark S&P 500, understand the TSP funds and how they correlate the indexes they track. Read, read, read, measure twice, cut once. Pick up a copy of Technical Analysis For Dummies, Stock Traders Almanac 2014, The Intelligent Investor, a small investment in your time spent reading can broaden your investment knowledge 10-fold. By then you should know what type of investor you want to be and why. Best of luck!

 

[secret squirrel]

Thank you all for your comments and the suggested reading material. I think I will leave the majority in the G funds and split the rest between the S and C. Opinions? Right now is the large business doing better than small one? Thank you.

 

[coastalite]

I think I will leave the majority in the G funds and split the rest between the S and C. Opinions?

Sounds sensible. I personally wouldn't want to be too risky so close to his retirement, but since we don't really know all the specifics, it's hard to give any advice - other than seek professional advice if you're not sure what to do.