Avoiding Disastrous Mistakes: The Danger of Portfolio Volatility in Retirement [2019]

Our focus this week: The challenge facing most of us!

Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Richard Thaler recently called the drawing down of money in retirement “way harder” than the saving phase because of the uncertainty of how long we will live.  He is proposing adding 401(k) funds to social security to increase monthly payouts. 

This week’s guest, Mark Cortazzo, wholeheartedly agrees with Thaler about the difficulty of the spend-down phase and says another largely unrecognized danger is portfolio volatility, which can mean the difference between solvency and insolvency at the end of life.  He has the research to prove it. 

Cortazzo has done a number of studies showing how the accumulation phase of investing assets for retirement if done regularly and systematically over many years can make just about anyone feel like a genius.  However, once the withdrawals begin, what the pros call the decumulation phase, it’s a whole different ball game. What worked so well in building up a nest egg can be a disaster when taking it apart.

WEALTHTRACK #1548 broadcast on May 17, 2019.