Replies to post #102163 on Biotech Values

[medchal]

"How do you think the 55 or 65 year old person is going to react to the markets?"  That's me (well, add a few years), and I'm not getting out.  I don't think any experienced investors are going to flee.  Those who are much younger and less experienced, particularly those who invest only through funds in retirement plans, may change their investing ideas--for a time.

Real estate is whole different ball game.  I think only a kind of mass insanity held up that market for a long time, and is still holding it up, only at somewhat lower levels of ludicrousness.  I could be wrong, but it won't affect me, as I don't view real estate as a plausible "investment" for most people, including me.  Particularly, one should not dabble in real estate.  Successful real estate investing is either a full time job or a game of chance.

[10nisman]

OT...

How do you see the 'baby boomers' reacting? This is a very influential group.

Any intelligent baby boomer knows the flash crash was just that a flash. Long-term investors enjoyed the free entertainment. Maybe people should actually learn to invest versus trying to explain or worry about every trading day. Learn from the Buffett's of the world....

Also, who really uses stop losses but day/swing traders? I'd love to understand the rationale behind financial planners/brokers encouraging long-term investors to use stop losses on ETF or blue-chip holdings. That's just ridiculous, IMO.

How do you think the 55 or 65 year old person is going to react to the markets? These are the people who had the most to lose both in equities and real estate, and we've seen they won't touch real estate so do you think they feel different about the markets?

A good portion of baby boomers should have already reduced their portfolio risk moving closer to a 50-60% bonds/cash/gold and 40-50% equities. I'm sure today a lot of boomers are likely to be closer to 70-80% bonds/cash/gold versus equities. Its not so much that the current markets are dictating their decision but their age and investment horizon that are big reasons for moving toward a lower risk profile.

Most baby boomers own their homes out right and the value of their homes likely dropped however most have no reason to sell. Their home is their home not an investment. Also, if their investment portfolio's were properly risk adjusted before the credit/economic crisis then they should be able to buy a nice retirement property cheaply in FL, AZ, or in other beaten up housing areas.

Retired people and baby boomers have gone through a number of recessions before and have also dealt with market crashes and hard times. Of all Americans, they have more real-life experience to understand and properly deal with these events.

10nis