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Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

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Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#61

Post by cityzen »

sneak wrote: post #55
cityzen wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem (for me) with index funds is that you end up participating in stocks for companies you may not want. For example, I don't want a penny of my money to go to Facebook, Amazon, Google, etc. Here's the VFAIX top ten holdings: Microsoft Corp Apple Inc Amazon.com Inc Facebook Inc A Berkshire Hathaway Inc B Alphabet Inc Class C Alphabet Inc A Johnson & Johnson Visa Inc Class A Procter & Gamble Co It has always b…

Choosing to invest or not invest in Facebook does not change a single thing about whether or not society as a whole chooses to use Facebook and whether or not, via that use, Facebook becomes powerful and further erodes societal values placed around privacy. Facebook would still be Facebook (and thus dangerous) even if it were privately held. Facebook is Facebook because they have an app that people love to use, and t…

Cool, I think you missed my point, though. I personally do not want to have a penny invested in Facebook/Google/Amazon. I do not care about the gains or losses or the number of people that love to use their apps/services.

Money isn't everything.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#64

Post by jpn »

1. Open a margin account on Interactive Brokers.

2. Choose a target volatility level you're comfortable with (I like 20%).

3. Buy shares of BRKB. Buy enough such that volatility of your portfolio reaches your target volatility.

4. Every month, update your share amount to maintain the same target volatility.

https://alphaarchitect.com/2019/05/22/volatility-targeting-i...

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#65

Post by t0mas88 »

jpn wrote: post #64

1. Open a margin account on Interactive Brokers. 2. Choose a target volatility level you're comfortable with (I like 20%). 3. Buy shares of BRKB. Buy enough such that volatility of your portfolio reaches your target volatility. 4. Every month, update your share amount to maintain the same target volatility. https://alphaarchitect.com/2019/05/22/volatility-targeting-i...

At step 1 I was half expecting this to go towards /r/wallstreetbets and some terrible jokes.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#66

Post by blaser-waffle »

silicon2401 wrote: post #60
sneak wrote: post #10

Short answer: Dump it all in VFIAX and ignore it for about 30 years. Alternately, wait for the housing market freefall that is scheduled to hit about 180 days from now, and buy a foreclosure or two. EDIT: Cosigning the above recommendation about maxing out a Roth IRA each and every year as well, and of course maxxing out any company-matched 401(k) options.

Why VFIAX over VOO? does buying a foreclosure mean buying a house for cheap after the owners were unable to pay for it?

VFIAX is "Admiral Shares" and has a lower expense ratio compared to VOO. But it also requires a higher minimum investment -- $80k is over that limit.

Even if OP splits it into smaller, dollar-cost-averaging purchases they'll still be able to get VFIAX without a problem.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#67

Post by blaser-waffle »

cityzen wrote: post #61
sneak wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Choosing to invest or not invest in Facebook does not change a single thing about whether or not society as a whole chooses to use Facebook and whether or not, via that use, Facebook becomes powerful and further erodes societal values placed around privacy. Facebook would still be Facebook (and thus dangerous) even if it were privately held. Facebook is Facebook because they have an app that people love to use, and t…

Cool, I think you missed my point, though. I personally do not want to have a penny invested in Facebook/Google/Amazon. I do not care about the gains or losses or the number of people that love to use their apps/services. Money isn't everything.

There are ethical investing firms, and they offer ethical investing mutual funds and ETFs -- my wife holds a few of their offerings. Their performance isn't amazing.

You're also not obligated to buy an ETF -- you can create your own "index" without much effort. The OP's $80k would let them do that, were they so inclined. Maybe not all 500 in the S&P, but a lot.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#69

Post by parenthesis »

The world of investing is filled with a lot of bs, conflicts of interest, snake oil, fraud, and plain old incompetence.

Therefore, you need to pretty much learn enough that you could do it all yourself. At that point, you might not do it all yourself, but you'll have a decent chance of judging whether or not someone (advisor, robo-advisor, investment fund, index fund provider etc.) you delegate to knows what they are doing.

And by the way, I'm starting up a hedge fund right now. I can guarantee you an annual 20% return.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#70

Post by blaser-waffle »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #27
mrvenkman wrote: post #4

Buy property, silver or gold. Or - in the current climate shares in the airline industry.

Why precious metals?

The perception that they will hold value while other assets are in flux. Because they're, like, metal, and won't rot, turn into water, or dry up, or have their value crash because no one wants to live in Detroit.
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