Why is My IRA Losing Money?
An individual retirement account (IRA) is a personal investment account that offers tax breaks and allows investors to invest in various securities, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. While its value may fluctuate during market downturns, an IRA’s tax advantages make this investment account highly recommended.
Receiving your quarterly statement and seeing your IRA balance decline can be disconcerting, but don’t panic; there could be several factors contributing to its depletion.
1. You’re not saving enough
Witnessing your retirement account balance decline is never pleasant, but fluctuations are normal in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) during uncertain economic conditions.
Your IRA investments could include stocks, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). When markets decline, so too does your IRA value.
Staying the course and not making hasty decisions that could end up costing you in the long run are paramount to successful investing. Panicking during a market drop and withdrawing all or some of your funds could cost you hundreds or even thousands in lost returns.
Decided not to cash out early? Instead, invest extra funds – like work bonuses, holiday gifts or tax refunds – each month into your IRA using dollar cost averaging. This practice helps minimize market declines while keeping you on track toward reaching your goal faster, taking full advantage of compound interest and time’s power to compound growth.
2. You’re investing in the wrong type of investments
An individual retirement account (IRA) is a savings vehicle designed to help you put away money toward retirement. You can invest in stocks, mutual funds and bonds within an IRA; its value will fluctuate over time depending on market performance and your investment allocation strategy.
Selecting investments that align with your risk tolerance and retirement goals can be a good place to begin, but managing and rebalancing your portfolio regularly is also vital to prevent losses and lower fees, which can significantly diminish returns from an IRA account.
IRAs that have consistently lost money may require assistance from a financial advisor to assess why. A financial advisor can also help evaluate why and adjust your strategy in line with your goals. In general, IRAs have rebounded after periods of losses, showing the value of staying invested through market downturns to reap their benefits when markets recover.
3. You’re investing too much
A well-diversified IRA can help you outpace inflation and grow your savings, but only if you refrain from withdrawing funds when their value declines or cashing them out altogether. A disciplined investing approach such as dollar cost averaging can be effective at doing just that – providing regular installments instead of all at once.
Keep investing and let the markets rebound over time, taking advantage of market downturns as an opportunity to purchase investments at discounted prices and drive future gains. However, before committing large sums of funds into investment accounts such as an IRA or Roth IRA – or else you may incur taxes and penalties when withdrawing your money – make sure that you have enough savings set aside to cover unexpected expenses should markets take a tumble – an emergency savings fund is always important!
4. You’re paying too much in fees
Fees associated with an IRA can have an immense effect on its growth, whether through trading fees, management fees or sales charges on fund-style investments. When these fees exceed 10% of your returns they can significantly diminish them.
Market declines can reduce your IRA value, but there could also be other reasons. Misaligning investments, poor performance in specific sectors and excessive fees could all have an effect on retirement savings.
However, you can take steps to mitigate losses in your IRA. These include diversifying your portfolio, investing in appropriate asset classes, regularly rebalancing it and staying informed of financial news. Consult a financial professional if needed for advice and guidance; otherwise consider moving volatile investments like stocks into an annuity without as many fluctuations. Investing should be seen as long-term proposition; don’t be discouraged by temporary setbacks!
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