[USER]

I’m a late starter at 59. I only have around 90k which includes a 45K emergency fund. So out of that I have around 25K invested in stocks (including 4% BTC).

I have a bit less than $20K cash that I’d like to invest in stocks as I have way too much cash (today it’s 44% cash excluding my emergency fund).

I am nervous to invest it all at once, so I am DCA’ing and also funneling it into my 401K each paycheck (this cash is in my brokerage MM).

I don’t make much money – less than $50K gross with my main job, but I usually have a side gig or 2 that adds a few thousand more.

In my 401K, I’m investing in FXAIX (S&P) and I have about 50% S&P/Whole market in my whole

portfolio(brokerage/Roth/tIRA), plus about 20% growth ETFs (SCHG/QQQM), 20% LC value div (SCHD) and the rest is my dabbling in 4% SCV (VBR/AVUV) and various international index funds 2% (VEA/FZILX/FSPSX).

I have an mREIT that I’d like to get rid of – NLY, but it’s down 40%, so I just leave it for now (2%). BTC is about 4%, but that includes the BTC I hold on my own too (plus ETFs in my tIRA).

So….I’m just wondering how to invest the rest of this money. I feel like I made it overly complicated with all my dabbling and exploring (and the REIT was my father’s suggestion).

Today I was going to buy more AVUV or VBR to increase my SCV, but I felt nervous and just bought 1 VTI and called it a day in the market drop today.

I keep seeing SCV touted as a good long term bet for increased growth, but it’s so volatile.

I even feel more comfortable with QQQM. The SCV ETFs are all in my brokerage account.

My accounts are all at Fidelity (and the mutual funds are all in my 401K or tIRA).

I know I’m older and it’s not much so far, but I really hope I can at least retire in 10 years. I know my main problem to solve is getting a new job (as I also dislike my job AND it doesn’t pay well).

But for now, I’d like to resolve my investment strategy so I don’t need to keep looking at my portfolio almost every day and agonizing over it.

More SCV, or just stick with S&P in 401K and VTI in my brokerage for simplicity?

I can’t add anything else to my IRAs as I already maxed them for 2025 and invested already.

It was Paul Merriman’s portfolios and other info I found on here and elsewhere that made me second guess just doing whole market or S&P for accumulation.

Any advice? Is SCV too volatile for a 10-year period? Of course, I hope I live longer than that, so that part could simmer another decade or two.

[Barry]

I know that your main question is about investing, so my main opinion on that would be that with $25k invested, the difference between all VTI and 50% VTI and 50% other equities is going to be tiny.

The main focus needs to be getting more invested. Since you dislike your current job, it makes sense to see if you can find something else that you like better and pays better — a much higher priority than deciding which factors to emphasize.

I was gobsmacked that you think SCV is volatile when you own just as much BTC…

RE: retiring in ten years. You don’t say anything about what else you might have coming (a pension, Social Security, an annuity,?) or about your expected retirement expenses, but if the $90k is what you’re depending on, you’re probably going to need to ramp that up quickly.

Hope this goes well for you.

[Amy]

You have $25K invested currently and are planning to invest another $20K for a total of $45K invested. Diversifying into this or that asset or factor tilting isn’t what will grow your balance the most at this stage.

It’s your own contributions.

I suggest simplifying into one fund—S&P500 or a total stock market ETF—and directing as much savings as you can into that one-fund portfolio.

Compound interest will eventually overtake your own contributions but that starts happening at about $100K so keep it simple for now.

Will you receive social security, a pension or have other income sources during retirement?

[Author]

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