My First Hit At A Trump Fan

[ProfessorGAC]

Like many, I avoid stirring up trouble over politics, but I pick my spots.
Background: Know this guy from golf course. Actually, a nice guy but I think he's got a libertarian streak a mile wide.
A few conversations has provided me with knowledge of the value of his 401k. And I have a pretty accurate guess as to his salary range.
He's in his early to mid 50s and has been bragging that with DOLTUS as prez he's 100% in stocks. Told him 5x before that he should be more like 60:40 at his age. Of course, he failed to acknowledge both that his equity portion went up 280% under Obama and that he was 50:50 before the idiot took office. So, he's already blindly comparing apples to machine bolts.
Anyway, I see him at gas station today, & couldn't resist. Asked him, "How's that 401k doing?". He tells me he moved to a balanced fund THIS MORNING! Good timing, right?
Then he says, " I'm still around $30k ahead.". Remember, I know what he makes, I know he outs 7% away with a 3:2 match.
Again, I couldn't resist. "You know that 30 grand is what you put in there the last 3 years?"
Crickets.
Then the surprise: He says, "Yeah, Trumped really fucked this up."
Hope that this 1 data point indicates a trend!

[safeinOhio]

1. Sold at the bottom.

Buy low sell high. Not rocket science

[ProfessorGAC]

4. What?

He didn't sell anything! What's your point?

[safeinOhio]

5. I thought he sold stocks to move into a fund.

"He tells me he moved to a balanced fund THIS MORNING!"

My mistake.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Got Ya!

Had me flummoxed.

[Blue_true]

7. Actually, since Funds with different objectives don't often own

the same stocks, the Fund Company would have to sell his shares of the agressive fund to buy shares in the balanced fund. So he did in fact freeze in a loss.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Possible, But Didn't Happen Here

He flat out told me he was only up the amount of his direct deposits over the last 38 months.
So, you're correct, but that didn't help him. Perhaps he was in a Dow or S&P index fund.

[Blue_true]

9. He is in a loss position regardless of how he got there.

He has loss some of his President Obama gains (most at this point) and some of what he has contributed since his faith in Trump. The net result just happens to look like he has gained only what he put in since kissing Trump's behind. The one exception to what I just wrote is if the Fund had a policy of holding new contributions in cash for a time, but I doubt that hold period would be 3 plus years or even six months. The first Fund that he was in and even the one he is in now likely use straddles to limit their downside, but when lots of people are running to get out of the gate, such strategies are only if limited value, if any value at all.

His best choice at this point is to stop making changes and pray that Biden is elected President. If that happens, he may be able to get back to the surface in 3-4 years of Biden's leadership.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. That Is What I Would Tell Him

I agree with his recovery option you proscribe. If he brings it up again though. I'm not going to rub his nose in it by bringing it up. I took my shot. One is enough. For a while.

[Blue_true]

11. I agree, better for you to attend to your life, if he comes in from the cold, so be it, if he

doesn't, then the consequences are his problem.

[Under The Radar]

2. Congratulations, not too many of them admit defeat or even a loss

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Ha-ha!

Never be disingenuous about your situation by using numbers when you're talking to a professor. LOL!