The Crushingly Expensive Mistake Killing Your Retirement

[Igel]

23. The early '80s were good for setting up IRAs.

My father did so, and locked in good rates and got a lot of appreciation in his paper assets. For 20 years he made the occasional change, but only the occasional change.

That lasted until he went with a new broker who was more into risk and speculation. Same company, just a different branch. Young whipper-snapper followed the advice of the advisors. Fairly quickly all the conservative, long-term investments were junked and what he was moved into was risky. The arrogant kid assumed he knew everything because, well, he was young, liberal, and had his college degree.

You don't put a 75-year-old man into risky stocks and bonds that might have a high payoff. You don't tell him that he should be in for the short-term since that's what he has left.