Have You Forgotten 2008?

As you chart your investment course it’s crucial that you position yourself to be able to live to fight another day. With the Fed’s zero percent interest rate policy it’s easy to forget the importance of bonds in your portfolio. And with the end of 2013 in sight, mutual fund companies are licking their chops for the day when they can run out their 5-year average annual returns sans 2008. But let’s not forget that in 2008 the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq cratered by a respective 32%, 37%, and 40% while Vanguard’s GNMA gained 7.2%. Mutual fund Legg Mason Value Trust lost 58% in 2008. The five-year average annual returns will make that a distant memory. But 2008 is impossible to ignore for those who were invested in the fund.