[Maureen Fitzgerald]

My husband’s retirement account is divided pretty equally between some higher risk investments, some low risk investments, and a money market fund. He is wanting to move more into the money market to protect it in case of a market correction. I say we are still young enough (mid-40’s) to keep it how it is and recover if needed. Thoughts?

[Sum180 Lead Coach]

Hi Maureen, thanks for this question. It’s something I believe many of us have wondered about. Bottom line: you are correct. At your age, people should generally be still actively invested in the market along the lines of your current allocation. Your husband would probably be interested to know that the upside of the market over decades generally comes from relatively few trading days, and the same is true for the downside. It would be great if you were in or out of the market on the right days, but none of us knows when those days will be. People who stay in the market over long periods experience the ups and downs, but most importantly, are able to participate in the overall positive returns the market generates over most longer time periods – 5-10 years. Your specifics could require tweaks to this general rule of thumb but in general I hope you’ll be able to stick with your current approach.