# How Is Your 401K Doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665 "2017-10-12T17:42:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/1 "2017-10-12T17:42:24Z")
Mine has been on a tear since day after Election Day 2016!!! Up 22.48% this year so far (w/NO contribution added). Thank you, Mr. Trump! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/2 "2017-10-12T17:55:15Z")
Since the OP is seeking person experiences, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Aufgeblassen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aufgeblassen/32/7321_2.png) [@Aufgeblassen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aufgeblassen)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/3 "2017-10-12T18:07:57Z")
By all means! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/4 "2017-10-12T18:15:34Z")
I was wondering if others were having the same. Mine used to creep up gradually for the past six years; but since the beginning of this year it’s been absolutely roaring upwards at around 30% growth (contributions included), very unusual. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/5 "2017-10-12T18:18:35Z")
> [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > Mine has been on a tear since day after Election Day 2016!!! > > Up 22.48% this year so far (w/NO contribution added). Thank you, Mr. Trump! 😃 Pretty sure you mean thanks Obama. Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/6 "2017-10-12T18:19:24Z")
Mine’s been on a tear since election day 2012. Of course it was on a tear right up to 2008 also. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/7 "2017-10-12T18:20:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Pretty sure you mean thanks Obama. To be fair, several percent of that is probably in expectation of yuge tax cuts and deregulation which may or may not occur in the first case and may or may not to lead to profits in the second case. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/8 "2017-10-12T18:29:12Z")
No 401K, but other investment accounts have been doing surprisingly well. I help manage a small charitable trust and October is the time of year we re-balance the investments and make decisions about how big the charitable outlay we can support for the coming year. Looking like will be a nearly 10% increase on the outlay this year which is one of the largest year over year jumps we’ve had since the founding of the trust about 25 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/9 "2017-10-12T18:45:36Z")
What I’m concerned about is a potential big crash next year that could wipe much of the gains out. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/10 "2017-10-12T18:51:19Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > > [@Aufgeblassen](#): > > > > Mine has been on a tear since day after Election Day 2016!!! > > > > Up 22.48% this year so far (w/NO contribution added). Thank you, Mr. Trump! 😃 > > Pretty sure you mean thanks Obama. > > Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk I heard someone on the radio talking about the question of who gets credit or blame for the economy. He pointed out that making changes to it (given it’s a seventeen-billion-dollar economy) is a little like trying to steer an aircraft carrier; you can’t change direction on a dime. But, yes, my investments are at an all-time high right now. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/11 "2017-10-12T19:00:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I heard someone on the radio talking about the question of who gets credit or blame for the economy. He pointed out that making changes to it (given it’s a seventeen-billion-dollar economy) is a little like trying to steer an aircraft carrier; you can’t change direction on a dime. > > But, yes, my investments are at an all-time high right now. 17 Trillions, not billions, but yeah. Unfortunately, the timing of the election cycles (4 or 8 year presidencies) often means that the guy who steers the aircraft carrier out of depression into prosperity gets blamed during all the years that there was depression, and once the carrier is actually headed in the direction of prosperity, the next POTUS gets the credit. If that POTUS then wrecks the aircraft carrier, it might go back into the direction of recession…but not until the NEXT president has taken office! In other words, the 4-year terms of the presidency are perfectly timed so that a president can harvest unfair blame or credit. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/12 "2017-10-12T19:04:27Z")
Sorry. Yes, trillions. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/13 "2017-10-12T19:07:01Z")
Depleting nicely, thank you, as we have been drawing down on it for a few years now. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/14 "2017-10-12T19:09:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What I’m concerned about is a potential big crash next year that could wipe much of the gains out. Yep. Given the actual deranged behavior currently coming from the White House and Congress, uncertainty about virtually everything (war, Russians, impeachment, inability to produce law, alt-right activity, etc.), I don’t understand how it’s been doing so well this far. I expect the crash will be soon and hard, and have been taking gains out of the market in anticipation of it. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/15 "2017-10-12T19:10:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What I’m concerned about is a potential big crash next year that could wipe much of the gains out. This is what’s worrying me. In my post-retirement job, I’ve managed to sock away some fun money for when I retire for reals, and while it’s been doing well, it’s mostly in very conservative funds. Still, I worry about losing much of it. I plan to work about another year, so we shall see… ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/16 "2017-10-12T19:14:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I heard someone on the radio talking about the question of who gets credit or blame for the economy. He pointed out that making changes to it (given it’s a seventeen-billion-dollar economy) is a little like trying to steer an aircraft carrier; you can’t change direction on a dime. > > But, yes, my investments are at an all-time high right now. What I’ve generally heard is that the Trump economy starts in October. So we’ll see what happens. Of course, I’m not actually all that convinced that the president (Trump or otherwise) has that much of an impact barring special circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/17 "2017-10-12T19:53:48Z")
Mine lost a good third of its market value in 2008ish. Up a good bit recently but I’ve been balancing it out (less stock index funds, more bonds) in anticipation of retiring about 10 years out and future market corrections. Blaming/crediting the guy on the hill for market conditions is misinformed and not useful. Who knows? One good EMP/zombie apocalypse type event and all this would be rendered useless anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/18 "2017-10-12T20:04:33Z")
Does anyone smell any irrational exuberance? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/19 "2017-10-12T20:15:28Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Does anyone smell any irrational exuberance? I don’t think it’s irrational, the stock market has been a on a steady climb for years. You could lose all the past year’s gains in a simple correction, but if you’ve had money in for a while then you can feel pretty good that you won’t lose too much. Something catastrophic could happen at any time. Some may feel we’re closer to such circumstances than we should be, but there isn’t much to do about that with retirement savings. However, I do think it would be irrational to expect these kinds of returns to continue for very long. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665/20 "2017-10-12T20:42:47Z")
I suppose if you feel certain a crash is looming around the corner you could slide all your money into bond funds and wait for the drop. Problem is no one knows when the drop will occur, how it will occur (all at once or in downward up/down steps), when the bottom has been reached, and how long it will stay there. And of course if the market keeps going up for another year before the drop you’ve missed out on all those gains. I’ll just probably stay pat and play the long game with the historical booms and crashes with the booms always coming back stronger than the crashes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-your-401k-doing/798665.md?page=2)