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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James R. Barrett who wrote (6048)	1/10/1998 3:18:00 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

Jim, Good question. We are in our 40s, with two boys getting ready for college, and most of our money is in mutual funds, including our 401 and IRAs, and maybe I have 1/6 of it in truly dismal stocks. The remainder is in tax free munis. Should we be scared? Our real broker tells me to leave the funds and forget about them so I have. Is that wise?

To: James R. Barrett who wrote (6048)	1/10/1998 3:26:00 PM
From: Jack Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

Hi Jim, >>Jack, if you were 30 years old and had all of your 401K, IRA money invested in the stock market, would you really be worried right now? It's an interestng question, because I was about 30 when I made an extensive study of the market trying to decide what to do with all the money I had in the world (cash from home sale before going in the service). We were in the midst of the 60s mutual fund mania then, and I definitely feel the erie d‚j… vu sensation as I observe the similarity to the current (in my interpretation) mania. We were in a "new era" then, the pundits told us, and historical valuations didn't matter. So I entered and observed the 1969 dip, and lost about 30% before getting out. Then I watched it bounce (just like after the 1987 dip), and then observed from afar as the early 70s bear market gripped the investment community and held it prisoner until ?1982. So, if I were thirty and had not experienced the above, maybe I'd leave the money in the market. With the experience, however, I would advise a 30 year old to lighten up on equities and run the risk of being out of the bull market for a while. By the way, I gave my son (age 30) this advice, and of course he hasn't paid any attention to me. Jack