If you can't "afford to lose it in a crash" as you stated - then you should have zero or a max of 10% in stocks. You need 90% in BONDS. I prefer to use ETFs (electronically traded funds) specifically for BONDS. The best way to buy and trade BONDS is to get an internet broker (like Ameritrade) and buy 2 ETFs.......BND, which is ALL US bonds, and BNDX, which is ALL European bonds. That IS a simple yet elegant system. You have VERY low risk and small STEADY GAINS. And you can convert to cash in 5 minutes by simply selling it yourself with a couple clicks of your mouse. Take care!

Cool dog Grumpy look at my advice to her. But BND and BNDX.........VERY low risk - almost zero. And yes timing the market is tough and risky. That's why the former CEO of Vanguard designed ETFs. Brilliant dude!!!!!!

If you are worried......drop the stocks down to 15%. And don't buy INDIVIDUAL stocks. Buy the ETFs for ALL the Nasdaq (QQQ) and for ALL of New York Exchange (SPY).

(1) I am not sure why this portfolio is called "Aggressive" unless asset allocation changed over time and you are quite senior. Something seems wrong here. Aggressive means not conservative. (2) I strongly second the recommendation for Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover". (3) If you have $250,000 you can find a professional who is a "fiduciary" to work with. They must be a "ficuciary" of you could be put in products not appropriate for you, which give good commissions to the finance person. (4) There is nothing wrong with a good annuity, but they are very complex and good ones are hard to find. There is, however, a type of annuity called a SPIA - basically, you give then X amount of dollars and they give you X amount of dollars a month for life, no matter what happens. They are insurance products and none has defaulted in over 150 years, so you are safe in a SPIA but your rate of return will not be high and you must hold it for about 20 years, on average, to get back what you put in. Without taking a lower rate, if you die, you do not get back what is left of what you put in. Some conservative investors believe they should have an annuity to cover "basics" (house, utilities, gas, food, etc.) and other investments to purchase beyond basics. (5) Do you have a budget? This is important. Know your basic budget and what you can afford to spend beyond that. (6) You cannot know if the market is going to crash. If I were you, I would assume that half of what I have in stocks, and a third of what I have in bonds, **could** disappear and not come back for 8-10 years or so, but that that dire event is under 50 percent probable. Who actually knows how probable? Then I would decide how much I want to risk in order to get investment returns. (7) I might consider putting the rest of my money in TIPS, but I do not use TIPS so you should consult a professional about them. TIPS stands for Treasury Inflation Protected Securities - they go up with inflation but not more than inflation.

True crashes, as opposed to normal market fluctuations, occur when something is fundamentally wrong in the market. These are not hard to spot, it is just that people don't want to see them coming. The tech bubble, the housing bubble, savings and loan crash.Anyone with half a brain could see them coming a year in advance. What do we have to worry about now? For decades the Republicans were for balanced budgets and the Dems were for investment. Then Ragan busted the budget and lowered taxes. Then Trump gave a huge tax break to the rich and lowered taxes, Now,the Dems are spending without raising taxes. That is a recipe for a crash. Average people are spending $500 K for houses. That is unsustainable. Above it all, wealth inequality is out of control 56 Americans own more of the nations wealth than 60% of the total population. Those things have crash written all over them.

Concerning investment. You are old. You need low risk, low fee investments. Don't pay a financial advisor. Educate yourself, then open an account with Vanguard and put your money in a market matching EFT or mutual fund. Safe, good returns, no fees.

The fees charged by a financial advisor eat into your earnings. They make it hard to see the fees they charge, but your money is putting their kids through Stanford.

There is a book about Warren Buffet that is good. He also has an ETF like FUND that is as solid as SPY. It is designated BRKB

There is a book by Somebody(?) Graham that is an all-time classic. It is quite technical.

Yes, AVOID annuities. Run away if some so-called adviser mentions the word!!!!!!!!

Come on Grumpy - my advice is good! Everyone loves your dog.

About 50% BONDS is NOT close to AGGRESSIVE. 90% stocks IS aggressive. You said you did NOT want that!!!!!!

Index Funds
 

Hi Becca - Many people are in the same boat as you. I don't know your age; however, if you are in your 60's, I'm in your ballpark. :) I can tell you that I started investing in the stock market many years ago when I didn't know what the heck that I was doing. Thankfully, I somehow have made quite a bit; and that is with significant losses a few times.

We have most of our investments with a discount broker, Fidelity Investments. I myself have a significant portion of my investments in index funds and ETF's. I think that is something you should consider. I have invested in S&P 500 index fund, balanced index fund (both stocks and bonds), health index fund, NASDAQ ETF. All have done quite well.

You could call Fidelity Investments and talk to a representative there and explain exactly what you have said in your post. They should be able to guide you how to invest. I want to warn you though: I would not recommend their "professionally" managed arm. You pay for that, whether your investments gain or lose.

They will be happy to transfer your money to their company and guide you as to what type of funds in which to invest, depending on your risk tolerance.

Inflation has been non-existent for many recent years. It has ticked up a little recently (from a low base). That's why the market is up big-time. She sounds (to me) like she NEEDS about 15% in stocks. Since she has ACKNOWLEDGED that she is naive (in the market) and open to exploitation by many local brokers.

Most advisors like you to buy INDIVIDUAL stocks so they can make maximum profits and KEEP turning you over!!!!!!

The only thing that may be safer than ETFs for bonds would be maybe(?) GOLD and there is an ETF for that even. I don't think that is necessary in today's economy.

The Village HAD (or may still have) an investment CLUB. I used to go to many of their meetings. Many SMART investors were there SHARING their knowledge. You might be intimidated at first by how advanced they are.