Quote:Questions .... assuming most of you are middle aged.

 

Are you getting more aggressive with your 401k investment (e.g. diversifying) ?   The reason I ask is because I went into protective mode when the Dow hit 18,500 because we're comfortable to date but in a way I feel like I'm not taking full advantage of the bull market.

 

Are you thinking of investing in anything this year (e.g. Oil Stocks or other stocks, Housing, etc.) ?

 

tldr;  Yes I would be investing in certain sectors, stocks, bonds etc. right now.

 

I happen to be middle aged and invest money for retirement through a few different avenues (401k, Roth IRA and a traditional IRA).  In my IRA's I mostly invest in Bonds and ETF's and more specifically sectors although there are a couple of "specialty" ETF's that I dabble in.  Finally, I do invest in a few stocks by themselves on occasion when I see something that appears to be a good buy.  In my 401k I pretty much just put that money into a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500.

 

I made a couple of moves last year that have done very well for me.  I bought shares in Micron technology (MU) back in May at around $9.50 per share after reading a few articles about their involvement in making certain memory types.  Today it's trading at around $23.50 per share.

 

In June on a hunch I bought shares of Smith & Wesson (SWHC) because it appeared that Hillary Clinton might win the election and there would be a run on gun sales.  Where I got lucky is that I placed my order the Friday before the Pulse Nightclub shooting and got in at around $21.50 per share.  I rode that stock until just before the election and sold because I expected a Trump Victory.  I got out a bit late at around $27 per share after it had peaked at around $30 per share, but I still made a pretty good return.  Today it's trading at less than $20 per share.

 

Around the same time frame (just before the election) I discovered an ETF that primarily focuses on Aerospace and Defense (ITA).  This one has been doing very well for me, and I anticipate that it's going to be a good long term growth kind of investment.

 

Now keep in mind, these are just a few moves that I have made on my own.  I also did make a couple of moves that didn't quite pan out the way that I anticipated.

 

As of right now, I'm more heavy into stocks (ETF's) than I am into bonds until I see an indicator that would make me think otherwise.  I expect that bonds might make a little bounce after the next Fed meeting because I'm sure that they are going to raise interest rates again.  That doesn't mean that bonds will be huge and stocks are going to tank, but we will see a slight (and expected) correction.

 

Regarding the part of your question regarding real estate, I also have shares in NYMT which is a REIT.  Regarding this investment, it's not really a "growth" investment it's more of an "income" investment.  Look at the history of it.  Generally speaking, when it trades at or near $6 per share is a good time to get into it.  It rarely goes above $8 per share, but what is nice is that they pay a very nice dividend quarterly so even though the price doesn't really increase much, you get a very nice return in the form of dividends.

 

Now keep in mind, I am by no means a financial professional.  If any of this doesn't make sense to you, I would recommend talking with a financial adviser.

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