- 35% of those 45-54 have stopped putting money into retirments accounts
- 25% have withdrawn funds from their retirement accounts
- 56% have postponed major purchases
- 24% have postponed retirement plans
The boomers are going bust. Why? Because they thought they had little control over their retirement accounts, and what control they did have, they just didn't know what to do about it.
That's very disturbing to me, and part of the reason I do what I do.
Our Forecasts showed a decline ready to begin back in August of 2007. Long and intermediate cycles were ready to roll over. When that pattern develops, if you can't buy puts, or buy inverse ETF's which will actually make money when markets decline, THEN YOU MOVE TO CASH. Plain and simple, you get out of long or growth funds and move into money market or government securities.
Millions of investors needlessly gave up years of gains in a few short months because they relied on "advisors" to tell them what to do. Big mistake.
Those advisors, are for the most part, paid only by money under management. When you move to cash, it is no longer under management. Where then is their motivation? To keep you in funds. That seems criminal considering what has happened to peoples life savings in the last two years.
Retirement accounts could have been spared. Life savings should have been protected.
In a survey we conducted in April, 95% of our users made thousands (some hundreds of thousands) of dollars over the past twelve months. (I'm going to have to work harder on the other 5%). The only reason they did so, is because we showed them what to expect, and they took action.
If anyone is serious about making money, those are the two keys: learn how to read the markets (forget about individual stocks, all the fundamental information is just padded reporting anyway), because as the markets go, so goes your portfolio. And when you understand its behavior, do what's required, take action.
Anyone who just turns their money over to someone else, especially some advisor who doesn't or can't trade the markets both up and down, and has a track record supporting it, isn't worthy of your time, your trust, and definitely not your wallet. You will do better than ANY of them on your own, IF you will learn and apply those two keys.
Steve
