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Jones Fiduciary Wealth Management

The Retirement Death Spiral [Part 1 of 2]

2 min read

The typical retirement portfolio is built on a 60/40 split.

60% stocks.
40% bonds.

For decades, this was considered the “safe” way to retire.

The idea was simple.

When stocks went down, bonds would help protect you.

All good, right?

The problem is the 60/40 stocks to bonds relationship has been breaking down for years.

(You can read more about that in the report, “The Bond Myth,” HERE.)
And that creates a much bigger problem.

When the market drops or your expenses rise, many retirement portfolios simply don’t produce enough income to support the retiree.

So where does the money come from?

They sell a piece of the portfolio.

At first, it’s not a big deal.

But every piece sold is one less piece generating future income and growth.

The portfolio gets smaller.

The income gets smaller.

And eventually, the retiree has to sell even more just to maintain the same lifestyle.

Now they’re in a death spiral.

I see it more often than you might think.

The good news?

There is another way.

It’s not new.

In fact, it’s how many wealthy families and large university endowments have invested for decades.

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About the author

Founder of Jones Fiduciary Wealth Management. He spent nearly two decades on the legacy side of the industry before building a fee-only fiduciary firm where the tax strategy comes first and the portfolio follows. Author of UnBrainwashed Investing.

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