Dynamic Asset Allocation means moving in and out of Assets or Sectors as each becomes stronger or weaker. In order to do that you need a long term market timing strategy.

One Web site I have found that uses this strategy is Confident Investment Strategies

The aim is to avoid large losses but at the same time go for high returns when market conditions are bullish and stand aside when the market is bearish.

The primary benefit is that your capital is virtually still intact at the end of a bear market and is ready to capitalise on the next bull run. Thus the compounding effect of returns is maximised because you have retained most of your capital and do not have to use the bull market just to recover your losses.

I am a great believer in using technical analysis and charts to help determine long term market timing. I have used it myself for several years and profited from it. Read the rest of this entry »

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Today for the first time I read an article that is inciting a revolution amongst American Workers with Employer Sponsored 401(k) Retirement Funds to get seriously involved in managing them. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Bill Donoghue is the hero who may start the revolution. He is calling for American Workers to unite to protect their 401(k) savings. Thank you Bill for your article, “Bear-market revolutionaries“. I just hope Baby Boomers in particular read it and take action.

Unless the mainstream financial commentators who know and understand the problems take the initiative and write about it, nothing will happen. Bill please keep this problem front and center.

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Well I didn’t expect to become a star overnight and maybe I won’t But anytime I can get in front of a camera to push my point about Baby Boomers needing to protect their nest egg it’s a bonus.

Today I got that chance. I did an interview with Channel 10 in Sydney Australia. It goes on air tomorrow at 11:00 am and the evening news. I might get 20 seconds or so. Still it all helps.

I am hoping I manage to strike the right chord, concerned, responsible and objective not alarmist. But after reading the survey by Mercer written about in my post “Government takes control of Baby Boomer Retirement Nest Eggs“, maybe I need to be alarmist.

Baby Boomers have only had 20 years in Australia and a lot less in other countries to prepare for financing their own retirement. To many this will still come as a shock. The pension looms large in their make-up from watching their parents retire.

However we Baby Boomers have been charged with the responsibility of looking after ourselves and even though there is a pension and social security life-line we want more than that. Read the rest of this entry »

We are all concerned about the banks and how secure they are. Mr Paulson said the banks are 99% secure but is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure they have access to tax payers money. He and the FED are manufacturing money to keep all the bankers employed, I mean keep the markets liquid and prevent a complete mortgage collapse.

With the new rules on short selling on selected stocks it appears the professional money is jumping back into the market and we are on target for a mini-rally or another bounce.

Either way it might be a good idea to take a serious look at your equity funds, ETF’s and stock holdings in your portfolio and make some decisions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Baby Boomers should start to worry in my view. My title could become fact. The level of apathy displayed on the part of many if not most Baby Boomers about managing and protecting their nest egg is frightening. Government may be forced to take control to save us from ourselves.

I have to say I was not at all surprised by the survey results I read in the Australian Financial Review yesterday. The article written by Barrie Dunstan was on a survey conducted be Mercer Financial into what I assume is Baby Boomer awareness of their imminent retirement and the state of their nest eggs.

What they found was very concerning and in my view and could end up with governments taking control of the distribution of our nest eggs in the belief they can do a better job of managing, protecting and tracking our retirement nest eggs after retirement.

Just take a look at some of the findings:

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I much appreciate a comment I received on my Post about Apathy of Baby Boomers to take control of their nest eggs. I do believe there is a lot of truth in the comment that Baby Boomers are innocent when it comes to their retirement nest egg. But I contend this is unacceptable in an adult in their late 50’s and beyond who is or is about to retire.

In many countries around the worlds where compulsory contributions are taken out of salaries each month for all workers they can be forgiven if they lose sight of this money. Many young people today will wait 40 years or more before they see any of that money. It becomes unreal and may just be considered another form of tax. If you can’t spend it when you want to then just forget it may be the lament.

Innocence occurs because the time horizon is too far out to be of concern, plus in the early years the amount are so small as to be of no consequence. There is a total disconnect between the retirement money, the investor and the fund manager. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s seems there is deep seated apathy in Baby Boomers over their retirement nest eggs. Despite all the posts I have written on this blog there seems very little concern out there or at least any that is being expressed. This seems to be the only rational explanation. Every day there are new headlines about:

• stock market losses seriously eroding retirement nest eggs.
• financial fees and charges of up to 30 times declared costs eating into retirement funds.
• subprime crisis destroying house values everywhere including those owned by baby boomers
• baby boomers may have to work for much longer to replenish their nest eggs after the bear market and recession few admit is happening.

So why aren’t baby boomers making their presence felt?

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I may not have got all Mutual Fund fees and charges but you should be horrified by the list of the ones I have found. The Mutual Fund industry has found many ways to part you from your money with their loads, fees, charges and hidden costs. They do this slowly with small percentages over time so you don’t notice. MER’s or Expense Ratios are for their great looking prospectus. But many fees and charges may not be included in the Expense Ratios. So you may have to hunt down or demand your financial planner make a full written disclosure on each fund you are invested in.

You should be alarmed by the figures in the table below. it is from the excellent site Retire Early Home Page by John P. Greaney. It clearly shows when you are accumulating a nest egg what effect fees have on the final amount of your nest egg after 40 years. As you can see fees of 3% result in your nest egg being less than 50% ($427,219) compared to fees of 0.02% ($968,249) after 40 years of saving. That money is paid to your financial planner over that 40 year period. Whether you are in the USA with an IRA or in Australia with a Superannuation Fund the fees take the same toll on your retirement nest egg.

Read the rest of this entry »