How to Avoid Impulse Moves in Retirement Investments

The New York Times has published an article by Tara Siegel Barnard titled "Long-Term Stock Plans Help to Avoid Impulsive Moves." The article provides advice on how individuals nearing retirement may protect their investment portfolios from their own emotional impulses.

The article explains that individuals can protect their portfolios by:

• determining how much risk they can tolerate;

• knowing how much stock they will need to meet their retirement goals;

• setting aside one to five years of their expenses in cash;

• establishing a plan  to rebalance their portfolios; and

• developing a contingency plan in case their retirement date coincides with a downturn in the market.

See Tara Siegel Barnard, "Long-Term Stock Plans Help to Avoid Impulsive Moves," The New York Times (September 15, 2011).

Posted by Brian Spring, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.