I use to have a couple of you guys ask me every now and then about investments. I am not a broker so this is only an opinion. With the stock market as high as it is right now trading around the 24,600 to 24,700 range it is treading in uncharted waters. Some of these great so called annalists are predicting the Market will fall. emoDoh DOH! REALLY! That is so obvious it is like me saying, "I predict the sun will rise tomorrow." Then the next day me walking around all proud of myself saying, "See, I told you." It is not a matter of if it is going to fall but more a matter of when and how far will it fall.
To buy stocks right now is not a great idea in my opinion. With the market so high you could find yourself seeing a fall and waiting a long time for it to get back to where you bought it. However selling right now might be a good thought. Even if it is in an IRA you could sell the stock, put it in cash within your IRA, wait for the fall and then rebuy stocks at a cheaper price in turn getting more stocks for your buck. One word of caution here I will throw in is I never thought it would get as high as it is right now, 24,700 on the Dow is really higher then I thought I would ever see it in my lifetime, you really don't know how high up is. Selling might be a good action if you want to lock in the gains. Remember if it is outside an IRA it will cause a taxable event. Inside an IRA you are safe as long as you keep the money within your IRA and buy the stock back leaving it in there.
It is also a good time to dump poor stocks and reposition yourself. If you are a player on the market and have a couple stocks that did not do all that well with the market performing as well as it has those may be something to sell now. It will only get worse when the market has an adjustment. You can also write off any loses you may have and take the tax write off usually up to 3,000 per year and in some cases carry over those loses exceeding 3,000 to the next year.
Finally the only other thing I would bring up is for those who have been investing, if you have ever considered an annuity now is the time to get into one. These dang things can be tricky so I would strongly advise you to talk with a good broker, someone like a Raymond James or Edward Jones Broker. Don't use these guys who are non licensed brokers who are only authorized to sell annuities. They are really more like insurance agents who are not true brokers. They make commissions and may not really have your best interests in mind and only be wanting you for their commissions. Right now with the market as high as it is you can purchase an annuity, lock in the high price of the market and guarantee yourself a minimum increase in the base of that annuity of 5 to 6 percent annually until age 65. The trick is you don't want to ever have to sell that annuity. Most annuities are set up to give you an income stream once you reach age 65. If you ever have to sell it you will get the actual value of it, not the base. The base will grow according to the contract you agreed to while the actual value will grow to the market. With the fees and the possible market fall it could have a value actually less then you paid for it if you had to cash it out.
OK, if I have been boring you I will shut up now. emoGeezer
Tight lines to all, Jmax
To buy stocks right now is not a great idea in my opinion. With the market so high you could find yourself seeing a fall and waiting a long time for it to get back to where you bought it. However selling right now might be a good thought. Even if it is in an IRA you could sell the stock, put it in cash within your IRA, wait for the fall and then rebuy stocks at a cheaper price in turn getting more stocks for your buck. One word of caution here I will throw in is I never thought it would get as high as it is right now, 24,700 on the Dow is really higher then I thought I would ever see it in my lifetime, you really don't know how high up is. Selling might be a good action if you want to lock in the gains. Remember if it is outside an IRA it will cause a taxable event. Inside an IRA you are safe as long as you keep the money within your IRA and buy the stock back leaving it in there.
It is also a good time to dump poor stocks and reposition yourself. If you are a player on the market and have a couple stocks that did not do all that well with the market performing as well as it has those may be something to sell now. It will only get worse when the market has an adjustment. You can also write off any loses you may have and take the tax write off usually up to 3,000 per year and in some cases carry over those loses exceeding 3,000 to the next year.
Finally the only other thing I would bring up is for those who have been investing, if you have ever considered an annuity now is the time to get into one. These dang things can be tricky so I would strongly advise you to talk with a good broker, someone like a Raymond James or Edward Jones Broker. Don't use these guys who are non licensed brokers who are only authorized to sell annuities. They are really more like insurance agents who are not true brokers. They make commissions and may not really have your best interests in mind and only be wanting you for their commissions. Right now with the market as high as it is you can purchase an annuity, lock in the high price of the market and guarantee yourself a minimum increase in the base of that annuity of 5 to 6 percent annually until age 65. The trick is you don't want to ever have to sell that annuity. Most annuities are set up to give you an income stream once you reach age 65. If you ever have to sell it you will get the actual value of it, not the base. The base will grow according to the contract you agreed to while the actual value will grow to the market. With the fees and the possible market fall it could have a value actually less then you paid for it if you had to cash it out.
OK, if I have been boring you I will shut up now. emoGeezer
Tight lines to all, Jmax
It is actually only about 2 and a half percent but would not want to see that happen much. Not sure if this is the beginning of the correction that I have been thinking was coming. I believe it will be a total of about 10 percent so it still has a ways to fall. I would love to be wrong on that and it not fall that much. emoRolleyes The market just rose too quick too fast to sustain that level. Hang in there thou, what goes down will go back up. Just not sure how far and when. emoGeezer Jmax