S2 EP15 - How Should I Be Invested?

We break down how to choose an aggressive or conservative portfolio using two factors that actually matter: when you’ll need the money and how you react when markets drop. You’ll hear why the same S&P 500 dip can be a disaster for one person and a buying opportunity for another, plus how to think about stocks, bonds, and cash in a simple way. 

• Using three timelines to set your baseline risk level: under three years, three to seven years, seven plus years 
• Seeing 2008 to 2009 as a real-world example of why short-term money can’t take big drawdowns 
• Treating long time horizons as an advantage and staying the course through volatility 
• Using dollar-cost averaging to buy more shares when prices fall 
• Navigating the three to seven year “gray zone” with diversification and professional planning 
• Factoring in emotional risk tolerance and past reactions to market drops 
• Defining aggressive vs conservative as a range of outcomes and risk of loss 
• Comparing common aggressive, conservative, and middle-ground investment types