Hi. I'm new here. I've read Lichello's AIM book, latest edition, but I don't know where to start. I'd love some guidance and will give you some info about me that may help you with better answers.
I'm 66 and retired. I live off my investments and Social Security and do NOT have any pension. 80% of my investment assets are in IRAs, 20% in a taxable account. All my investment assets are with Vanguard, and I currently have 55% stock mutual funds, and 45% bond mutual funds, which I rebalance periodically. My average return over the last 10 years is 6%, but I live off about 4%, so my portfolio has grown slowly be surely. As you can guess from my allocation, I tend to be cautious and conservative, since my investments are my primary source of income.
I was thinking of using one of my smaller IRAs to start an AIM program. The PE ratio of the SP500 seems pretty high, which makes me a bit nervous, so I don't know what would be a reasonable starting balance for stocks/cash. I'm inclined to use ETFs over individual stocks. I will need to do better than 6% average going forward because I will soon need to take RMDs from my IRAs, which will dramatically increase my tax bite, causing my cost of living to increase.
Can someone help me get started? Here are some newbie questions.
1. Do I need software? If so, which is best? (I'm on a Mac)
2. Starting Stock/Cash balance in today's relatively pricey market?
3. Which AIM variant is recommended? AIM-HI?
4. Suggested ETFs that will work well with AIM. I prefer Vanguard, since I have no fees, but if they are not the right vehicle, I will consider going outside Vanguard.
5. Where do I stash cash in these low interest rate times. Money Market, ST Bond Fund?
6. Recommended frequency…bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly?
7. I assume an IRA is the best place for AIM, due to tax deferral. What about my taxable account.
8. Have you long time AIMers done well compared to the market?
Sorry for all the questions/ I looked around on this website, but got a bit lost as to where to start. I appreciate any help you can provide to get me started.
Lou Dina
