Should I cut my losses on mutual funds and IRA?

Question

I started investing in these funds last year and I'm over $2000 in the hole. Should I hold on, or cut my loses and run while I still have some of my money?

Answer 1

Actually, if you are young (under 50), you should continue to invest on a steady basis...it is called dollar cost averaging...think of it this way, when the market is down, you are buying at a discount and when the market bounces back, you will make more money.  

Over the long term, the stock market is the best investment you can make.  Historically, it earns 8% annually versus bonds at 4.5%, real estate around 5% and savings accounts much lower.

I would just make sure my mutual funds are well diversified which should limit your losses and protect you against variable markets.

Try the link below for more info on dollar cost averaging.

Answer 2

If you are in a family of funds you should be able to transfer your money into different funds objectives in the same family of funds. NEVER sell out of a funds while it is at a low. I always transferred my 401 into a money market account when the market started a downturn. A money market price is constant.....$1.00 a shr. Income interest is very small but, at least you are not on the losing side. When the market comes back, and it will, then transfer your money into a more aggressive fund. Aggressive funds usually have a higher rate of return then one that has less risk.

Answer 3

Probably stay put unless you are market timing some.

The market is down 20% already, mostly it is too late, even if it can go down more.

The majority of retail investors make the exact wrong moves.  That is one reason they always tell them to just hold.

Ever notice that nobody is asking if they should sell when the market is making new highs?  Too bad since that is when you should sell some.

Then they ask if they should sell after the market tumbles. Typical buy high sell low.

I try to be a contrarian.

Answer 4

if you can't handle the long term commitment, get out of it. it will rebound no matter what the libs tell you.

if you are planning on retiring this year, then you're in trouble. i assume you have many years left before retirement, be patient, it will pay off eventually.

Answer 5

they will be back up in a year or 2. If I were you I would just accept it , stop looking at it every day and just hold on to your money until the depression is over. or, keep investing .  but it will get worse before it gets better.

Answer 6

Hold 'em !!! EVERYBODY's lost $$$ over the past Year- I know EXACTLY how you feel ! -But the Market is just about at it's "bottom"; & in a couple of months- a slow , but steady rally should set in... If you "bail out" now- you'll MISS the Opportunity to recoup your losses -AND, end up having to pay a 10% penalty to Uncle Sam on what you take out !!! So "sit tight" & grit your teeth just aLITTLE longer... -A Year from now, you'll thank God- you did !!!  :)

Answer 7

If you get out it will be a great lesson in financial management. You can keep track of where you got out and in 5 years see how much you would have made.

You need to learn about Mutual Funds. Read a couple of books, starting with Mutual Funds For Dummy's.  The "education" you give yourself will help you allocate & survive during the "bad times"........................

Once you learn...... you won't be happy about lossing the $2000..... but you'll also see this time as an opportunity to invest more.

Answer 8

Always ask yourself, would you buy it today?  The day you say no, that's the day you sell.

Answer 9

First off, I would not pull ANYTHING out of the IRA.  Depending on what type of IRA (traditional or Roth), you could trigger a tax hit and 10% penalty for early withdrawal.   If you don't like what the $$$ in the IRA is doing and you genuinely think it's down for the count, look into putting it somewhere else w/o removing it from the IRA.

As far as mutual funds go, a lot of it depends on what kind of mutual fund it is.

If it is an index fund:  I saw something on the Motley Fool website recently that said the worst investment in the world is a high cost index fund.  With index funds you find the index you are looking to target (like the S&P 500, the whole US market, or perhaps international, etc), and find a fund family that is low cost.  MF compared the Vanguard 500 w/ a fund that very closely mimicked it's asset spread, but the Vanguard had FAR lower costs.  If you are in a high cost index fund, perhaps the answer is to move it to a low cost one that mimics the same index.

Or perhaps it's a sector specific index.  If it is, then whether you stick with it or not depends on whether that sector will recover.  The market as a whole will (unless there's a global catastrophe, but if that happens everything - including cash - will be worthless).  But the sector might not.

If it's an actively managed fund, then you need to do some homework.  With those, it isn't just about the market, it's also with the managers of that fund.  You need to investigate it like you would an individual stock and see if it is still a sound investment.   According to Jim Cramer, if the manager leaves the fund, you should too & put it somewhere else.

Answer 10

The benefit of mutual funds is diversification and when the price low your contributions buy more.  Unless you absolutely need the money keep adding to it on a regular basis, dollar cost averaging.

Answer 11

First, the world is not coming to an end.  Ultimately things will improve if you have the time (i.e. you started young).

The best lesson I ever learned was to never dollar average down.  Ever heard of trying to catch a falling knife?  

Only dollar average up, in other words, buy more of the investment if things are going good but don't throw good money after bad.  Instead, if your current investment is not doing well, look to make other wise investments (i.e. diversify by buying government bonds, GICs, etc.).  Also, decide when you want to liquidate your investment after it has achieved your desired rate of return.

It never hurts to invest for the future.  You just need to look for good investments.  Try to learn about investments.  You can ask for advise from mutual fund reps, brokers, etc. but at the end of the day, it's your money.  Thus, educate yourself and be prepared to go based on your own judgement and not that of others.  All financial advisors (mutual fund reps, brokers) make their money by selling you something so their goal isn't always aligned with yours.

Answer 12

Cutting your losses means selling low. Then, when the market goes up, you'll start buying high.

If you didn't assess your risk tolerance and set up a tax friendly, low-cost, diversified portfolio based on your risk tolerance then you started off on the wrong foot. You are gambling and you have no idea how to invest.

If this is the case, remedy it. This site will help you:

http://www.saveyournestegg.com/diy.html

Please don't attempt to invest without knowing how to invest. You'll lose.

Answer 13

I would cut my losses

Answer 14

Long term investments will always lose money periodically, but in general, they rebound.  The economy stinks right now.  If you don't need the money you invested immediately, I'd leave it where it is and wait it out.