What are you investing in the stock market. Looking for picks to research, especially ones where you can make a gain in a slowing economy or recession which could happen if the trade war intensified and Warren is elected.
This is what I got now:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - taking market share in the PC chip market, especially the lucrative server market since Intel's manufacturing process advancement has been delayed for years.
Microvision (MVIS) - a penny stock that's been in limbo for decades due to mismanagement and failed endeavors. Producing the display engine for the Microsoft Hololens 2. May also be in future products where a laser is beamed into your eye to create an image.
Netflix(NFLX) - shorted this as a hedge against a recession and due to upcoming increased competition from.Disney, AppleTV, and others that may result in subscriber declines, inability to raise prices, and high debt. It's a good service, but stock is way overpriced with wild growth expectations.
Vanguard index 500 - balanced fund with historically higher than average growth.
Before I continue I want to state while I am still licensed as a real estate agent here in Hawaii, I have shut down my business/business license and no longer work in the industry. So I can voice my opinion without violating the rules.
I don’t play the market much anymore. I was a big player back during the tech boom of the mid to late 1990’s. I noticed that your investments are tech heavy. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you realize that if you live by the sword you can also die by the sword. Tech is more prone to more wild swings than other sectors. Just be prepared to sell quickly and keep stop orders up-to-date as the stocks climb. While I sold all my stock right before the market crash in 2000 I realized at that time that I no longer have the balls to ride the tech waves anymore. We are in an up market right now and I wish you luck in your investing endeavors.
One thing I can recommend would be to search out ETF’s in place of your Vanguard fund. Not familiar with your particular fund, research the costs of the fund. Some fund costs can be quite high. You can buy ETF’s with much lower costs that will mimic most funds. Not saying your Vanguard is expensive. Just that with a little research you can save money by lowering your cost of ownership on certain funds. Of course if your Vanguard fund is in your 401K you might not have many choices. But if you have this in your IRA your choices are near unlimited. If you are looking for a more balanced fund you might want to check out an ETF (if in your IRA) or other fund (if in your 401K) that mimics the S&P 500. The S&P 500 is more balanced than the DOW and frequently outperforms the DOW. And usually these funds have lower overall costs than mutual funds. And the nice thing about an ETF is that you can buy and sell them like a stock. Since we are in an up market, this is what I invest in both my 401K and IRA when I have a few $ in my money market funds within those accounts. If the market were to downturn I would seek a safe harbor such as a money market fund to put my money in. Just a suggestion.
After I stopped investing in the market I started investing in real estate in 2005. While I don’t make the huge gains in short periods like you would in the stock market, my investments have done very well during the real estate crash and are doing very well during this great economy. The big thing to remember about real estate investment is that you benefit in more than one way. I not only have cash flow every month, but the income is considered passive income and is taxed a little differently than earned income. Also, I get equity capture when I buy a property for less than what it is worth. So I instantly have equity in the property without having to wait year(s) for the property to appreciate. Meaning I can immediately take out that equity and re-invest it if I choose to do so. I don’t invest this way anymore since I am retiring. But it is another option. Also, real estate appreciates in value. The properties I own are in AZ and they currently average 5%-7% appreciation a year. In my early days of buying investment properties I saw up to 15% appreciation a year right before the real estate crash in 2007. Of course it took me almost 8 years before I was no longer underwater on the value of my properties. But I didn’t sell them so I did not incur a loss. And still continued to have monthly income. Another advantage is while you are receiving rent checks you are using that money to pay down the mortgage. Meaning you gain equity in the property every month. And if you get more than break even rent checks, you can pay down the mortgage even faster. The last thing that real has as an advantage are all the tax benefits. I can deduct all mortgage interest, first year mortgage costs, all costs of maintenance and repair, property manager costs, rental costs, etc. But the big deduction is depreciation. If you buy right, you can use depreciation to almost or completely offset all your profits from the passive rental income. Meaning you should pay little or no taxes on the additional income from your property. There are limits to this however. And you should know what they are before you invest. The last advantage I found in real estate is because I am depreciating the properties, I must also pay taxes on the depreciated amount and added appreciation when I sell the property. Except that there is a thing called a 1031 exchange. Which allows me to sell the property and defer paying taxes if I use the money from the sale of the house to buy another like kind property for investment. I just did my first exchange August. One other item to consider is putting your real estate investments into your Living Trust. That way when the properties go to your heirs, they start anew with the property value and not have to pay taxes on the sale of the property if they sell right away. No matter what the depreciated value was, once you die, the value is what it is worth at the time of your death.
Sorry for the long post. I found out you can invest in real estate from your IRA. I found there are investing clubs and certain companies offer opportunities to take some funds from your IRA and invest in rental properties with other investors. There is usually a minimum amount like $10k or $25K to get in. But this might be an idea for you as well.