Starting 401k near the highs in a bull market?

heavenskrow

heavenskrow

So company offers 401k option...
Obviously it would be smart to start deferring some money into it, however few concerns I have are that
We are near the highs in a bull markets that's been running for 10+ years and also the fact that it's long only funds....

My question is, do I wait till we get a crash in the markets or go into bond funds until we get a supposed correction few years down the line?
 
I can't give you advise, but my daughter is 31, so I'll tell you what I told her. For long term savings, I believe, IMO, that dollar cost averaging is the best way to save over time. I told her to ignore market conditions and take the max she can put into her 401k they allow her.
 
The most prudent thing to do is to go long bonds (treasuries) or short the market. A buy and hold via a long fund sounds logical (here we go with Warren Buffet analogies...) but during recessions most retail investors are forced to sell their stocks at the worst time possible to put food on the table. This is something that never gets revealed whilst backtesting a buy and hold strategy............
 
Woodrow97 said:
The most prudent thing to do is to go long bonds (treasuries) or short the market. A buy and hold via a long fund sounds logical (here we go with Warren Buffet analogies...) but during recessions most retail investors are forced to sell their stocks at the worst time possible to put food on the table. This is something that never gets revealed whilst backtesting a buy and hold strategy............
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Long something yielding 2.5% and short something yielding 6%? Exactly all the dumb money out there is doing right now. Look at the market action. The next push will be huge!
 
dozu888 said:
Long something yielding 2.5% and short something yielding 6%? Exactly all the dumb money out there is doing right now. Look at the market action. The next push will be huge!
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I unironically saw you make this same statement before October of last year. ;)
 
Woodrow97 said:
I unironically saw you make this same statement before October of last year. ;)
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Irrelevant. I also started a thread in 2016 ‘are we gonna run out of shares’ when qqq was 105. October thru December I added more. Also read my other posts about retail sentiment. October was expected. We just didn’t know exactly when.
 
IMO, you should max out your 401k contribution to the level of the company match. If there is no company match, than the 401k has little value (paltry tax savings for pre-tax contributions), and in fact could be problematic if/when your employment with THAT company ends.

Outside that... and this holds true no matter the investment vehicle... if confused, uninformed, or uncomfortable with an investment, put it in a cash or equivalent option... dead money is not the same same as lost money.
 
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