The Appeal of Probability Has No Place in Retirement Planning

A experienced financial advisor, Darcy Bergen specializes in estate planning, social security, and retirement planning. The president of Bergen Financial Group, Darcy Bergen helps people plan for their retirement. 

If you are investing for retirement, you should not take excessive risks with your savings or other assets. Many people invest with a mindset that portfolio gains will be made simply because they have been made in the past. 

They believe that an asset will appreciate in value over time from price A to price B, all the way to price C. That mindset is similar to gambling. It is the appeal of probability, the belief that something will happen just because it can happen, or has happened. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Even bull markets crash, and when they do, many people lose money. 

Consider the last decade of the 20th century, at the height of the Dot Com boom. People invested money in tech stocks that seemed forever on an upward swing. However, the boom went bust and many people lost money. The same thing happened in the housing bubble. People were buying property all the way up to 2006, at the height of the bubble. When it finally burst, many people experienced substantial losses. 

Just because an asset has moved from price A to price B, doesn’t mean it will get to price C. It can go lower and if market forces dictate, it can go lower than its starting price A. Consult a retirement planner for advice on how best to protect savings and assets over time.

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