US News & World Report - Four investment mistakes to avoid after age 50
Once upon a time, turning 50 meant you were "over the hill." Today, 50 is the new 40 and according to researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and Stony Brook University, 60 is now middle-aged.
As you move into your 50s, thoughts of retirement – and how well you've invested – may become more frequent. A 2015 report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 43 percent of workers 50 or older say they fear outliving their savings in their later years.
Making some adjustments to your investment portfolio in your 50s may be necessary to ensure that you don't end up with a shortfall. Take care, however, to steer clear of these missteps that could negatively impact your retirement plans.
Investing conservatively too soon. Shifting into more conservative investments can help minimize risk as you get closer to retirement but you don't want to jump ship on stocks too soon, advises David Edwards, president of New York-based Heron Wealth.
"Stocks are volatile but they generate the high long-term returns needed to protect against longevity risk," he says.
Besides that, says Edwards, stocks are also an inflation hedge. When companies can raise prices in an inflationary environment, that passes through to revenues and earnings, which pushes up stock prices.
