Roth IRA Performance

Investing
#1

Hello,

In February of this year I invested a lump sum of $6,000 to max out a new Roth IRA for the year. Throughout the year, my account has only been decreasing in value…I’m currently at $5,200. I understand there will be ups and downs with investing and I also understand the market hasn’t been great this year as far as earning returns. With my Roth IRA continuing to decrease in value consistently - should I be making changes to what I am doing with it, or do I just continue to leave it alone?

With it being my first lump sum investment…I feel like it’s going to keep decreasing and by the time I see changes, it will be as if I made an initial lump sum investment of say $2,000 and lost out on the other $4,000 I originally put in (obviously that’s not based off a real scenario, but a potential hypothetical).

I also realize you can’t time the market, but it feels as if my timing was really bad. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thank you!

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#2

@Morgann Stay the course. Leave it alone. Around 70% of the time lump sum will yield better returns Than dollar cost averaging. I lumped summed my wife’s and my Roth this year at the beginning of the year. Do I wish I would have waited until June 16th, absolutely! But no one knew the market would drop. And don’t know if June 16th was the low for the year or if it will go lower. As J dog himself would say, live below your means and invest early and often. Also, the market is like doing a yo-yo on an escalator. The yo-yo may be down but that escalator is going up in the end. You take the money out now , and it may continue to go back up and then you’ll buy back higher. Not worth the risk. You got this!

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#3

I like that answer and love the “J dog” reference :joy: :joy:

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#4

Thanks for asking this, I also have had similar thoughts this year with my Roth.

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