Anyone liquidating their investments?

[Peanut_Gallery]

@Cervaise

Investments, no.

However, my bank is in serious trouble and I’m looking at closing my account and moving elsewhere (a credit union, probably). I know, I know, the problems with the bank are on the credit-and-lending side, not the savings-and-deposits side. However, I’m concerned that the average citizen won’t realize that, and will start pulling their accounts out of ignorance, thus precipitating a run on the bank, which could snowball, thus creating a problem on the savings-and-deposits side where one did not previously exist. While my deposits are of course insured and, in the long run, safe, I don’t want to take the risk of having things suspended and/or unavailable for some short transitional period after a bank failure while the details of recovering my cash get worked out. So I’m in the uncomfortable position of considering a technically unnecessary move purely for defensive reasons, and thus knowingly participating in and perhaps causing the very problem that I know doesn’t need to happen.

And even if that doesn’t happen, I have serious problems with some of the possible suitors mentioned in the article; I’d rather not wake up tomorrow to find my accounts are suddenly held by one of them.

This is exactly where I’m at. I know my money is insured by the FDIC, but I sure as hell never want to find out what it will take to get it from them. I do however know that I can go over to WaMu right now and get all my money in about 10 minutes. I know that that would be adding to the problem (hahaha, as if they’ll notice my deposits gone…), but screw the problem, I’m looking out for A#1. So far I haven’t done it, but I might this week.

And correct my ignorance here … am I wrong to also think, “Screw WaMu for getting themselves into this (with my money)!” while I’m on my way across the street to BofA? Did BofA really do anything different, or were they just lucky? Does any of this highlight their good management? Do I have reason to leave WaMu, not in a panic, but on the principle that they did a poor job? Or does that leave me with no place to turn to? It seems like there aren’t really any banks that didn’t get on this bandwagon somehow.

[Cat_Whisperer]

Those are really good questions, Peanut. Who do you turn to for solid advice when everybody from your broker to the head of Bear Stearns to the rating agencies have been lying to us barefacedly?

[Giraffe]

@featherlou

I’d do what I am doing - learning about economics, researching, keeping my ears and eyes open, and putting my RRSP (401K to you guys) in much lower risk funds. You can’t predict what is going to happen, but an informed investor can make good, educated guesses, like I did with my RRSPs when I moved them to a safer fund before this last crash.

(bolding mine)

I see, your advice is not based on what you should have differently after 9/11 to recover your money faster, but how you’ve adapted your investing strategy as a result of that experience. Fair enough.

Me, I think the stock market (in the form of a diversified set of index funds) is still the best bet for long-term investing returns. And, once you’ve decided to make a long-term investment in the stock market, you’re far more likely to come out ahead if you just stay in the market as opposed to trying to predict upcoming rises and falls. The only market timing I would do is to try to put more money in when everyone is freaked out. Then just ignore the account. Don’t check the balance weekly, don’t think of dips as “losing” x amount of money. You haven’t lost/gained anything until you sell, decades from now.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

With 25 years until retirement, I’m standing pat. If we hadn’t just bought a new house (and the lovely repair bills that always seem to show up with a new house) I would be considering increasing my 401K (mostly stocks) savings rate.

I have talked my SO into keeping some of our ready cash in a credit union account we’ve had for about 10 years. In case something does happen to the bank we use, I’d like to have enough cash to get us by for a while (or until we can get the direct deposits rerouted.)

[Ignatz]

I’m waiting for my next quarterly 401k statement to see how stable the Pru “Stable Value” fund is. There was only $3,300 in it last time. I have another retirement check plus an SS check, plus a paycheck so I’m o.k. for now. I think.

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Giraffe

(bolding mine)

I see, your advice is not based on what you should have differently after 9/11 to recover your money faster, but how you’ve adapted your investing strategy as a result of that experience. Fair enough.<snip>

Yes, that’s a good way of putting it.

[PunditLisa]

No, I’m not liquidating my investments. My account is down, of course, but we’ve made way more than we’ve lost over the years. I’ll snatch up bargains as I see them and hang tight til the storm passes.