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Should I move to all cash?

Posted by Cheryl Costa November 10, 2008 09:20 AM

My husband has Alzheimer's Disease. He's been living in a Memory Care facility for three months. He is 82 while I am 64 and just retired. Between us, our portfolios have dropped in value over 25 percent. We do not have many years ahead of us to recoup our losses. I think we should contact our broker and sell everything and put our money in CD's. Should we close out our accounts?

A big market downturn is scary for everyone and it is especially scary for new retirees. I totally understand your wanting to move to the safety of cash but I urge you to not do anything in haste. As many advisers say: "panic is not an investment strategy."

Your husband is 82 but you are only 64. You can reasonably expect your retirement to last for 25 to 30 years. In order for your retirement assets to keep up with the effect of inflation, you will likely need some allocation to equities (stocks). I can't say what allocation is appropriate for you because I don't know enough about your particular situation. But the odds are good that you need at least a small allocation.

Selling everything now and moving to cash will simply lock in your losses and, once you are in cash,how much can you earn? Very little over the long term. And, to add insult to injury, you would likely be falling behind once you account for the effects of inflation.

Furthermore, once you are in cash, you need to be able to tell when to get back into the market. If you are scared of the market, there is a good chance that you will wait too long and miss most of the run-up in the market when it does eventually happen.

All this being said, if you find yourself unable to sleep at night and consumed with anxiety about what is going on in the market, you may be more risk averse than you thought and maybe it is appropriate to ratchet down your allocation to equities. If this is the case, I would consider lowering your stock allocation over time. Consider selling a certain percentage each month until you are at a level that you feel better about.

"Switching to Cash May Feel Safe but Risks Remain" is a great article. Check it out.

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Local finance professionals share insights and advice on issues such as budgeting, managing debt, and retirement planning.
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About the contributors

Jill Boynton is co-founder of Cornerstone Financial Planning in Newington, N.H. Along with traditional financial planning services, Boynton provides analysis specifically for divorce.
Andrew Chan is the founder of Integrative Financial Advisors in Framingham. He provides comprehensive financial planning advice and investment management services. He has been an adviser for over 12 years and works with clients to integrate all aspects of their finances including investments, retirement, education funding, and tax planning.
Cheryl Costa is a managing director at AFW Wealth Advisors, which has offices in Natick and Purchase, N.Y. She advises clients on investing, education funding, and estate planning. She holds a master’s in business administration from Boston University.
Jamie Downey has been an accountant for more than 14 years. He's a partner at Downey & Co. in Braintree. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a manager in the audit department of accounting firm KPMG.

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