Joe, you hit the nail on the head with my problems with bond funds, mutual funds and so called advisers. Depending on how much one has to invest though, folks with limited funds can not buy individual bonds and have enough to diversify, so the only choice are bond funds and you are at the mercy of the talent of the person at the helm.
I believe that no one watches your money than yourself, so it should be each individual's responsibility to pay attention to what is going on. They should do this even if they have an adviser.
75% equity for a retired person sounds like a lot to me unless she is a young one. It also helps to know what kind of equity. But as we well know even the good stuff got major haircuts in these downdrafts we have experienced. Time line is important here (not to mention each individual's appetite for risk. I fear that with a bond only portfolio, people have a greater chance of outliving their investments. And with the possibility of future inflation, a bond portfolio won't provide enough of those cheapened dollars. Some equity exposure attempts to prevent that. That is why I appreciate your work on dividend paying stocks and writing premium.
We agree more than we disagree. I was just picking a bone on the 100% part. (By the way I have the same discussions with my brother who just wants to hold bonds.)
