Deuce130

This conversation reminds me why it's so important we protect our A fund. I was a pretty young hire at FDX (32) and was initially in favor of scrapping the A fund for a beefed up B fund. No longer. Our pension is critical.

FXDX

Dam skippy!

+1

FlyByNite

A wise man used to say "Never go flying with a doctor or lawyer, and never take investment advice from a airline pilot"

bleedairpacks

They overnight the autopilot fund with UPS.

Stick with Vanguard.

chuck416

IF one panicked and sold their Vanguard targeted retirement fund during the 2008 market downturn, then, yes, the investment might be characterized as having "tanked". If one remained fully invested throughout the downturn, and the subsequent rise in the market from Dow at 7700 to now 11,000, then you're probably right back where you were in Sep. 2007. Equities go up, and they go down. That's just a fact. Over time, a target retirement fund from V'guard will give you back approximately 10%. Maybe a little more. Risk.... You have to really understand what YOUR risk tolerance is. Most of us do not have a good grasp of that. When the market is going gangbusters, we all (mostly) have a very high risk tolerance. Let the market take a 25% down correction, THEN talk to me about your risk tolerance. And as for your pension....yes, you have a pension. UNDER THIS CONTRACT! That, my friend, can go away overnight. Ask any pilot who ever worked for:
PanAm
TWA
United
Delta
USAir
Eastern
Northwest
I'm sure I'm not taking into account several thousands of pilots at other airlines/freight carriers that were once at the pinnacle among their peers, and now defunct. If you're near the end of your career at FDX, your pension is (probably) safe. If you're still early in your career, and you plan your retirement on the promises that NOBODY can in fact guarantee, then I respectfully say that you are a fool. Save 25% of your paycheck, invest it wisely, and heaven forbid, if your company folds, you won't go belly up with it. There's an old adage that your grandparents lived by--"make hay while the sun is shining". We all would do well do do as much.
Regards,
Chuck

MD11Fr8Dog

Just to be clear, the Express Advisor (Airline Pilots | Retirement | Financial | USPFA.ORG) does not give advise on "timing the market". Its analysis is based on an overall Bull/Bear indication based on market trends and he suggests investment models (Conservative, Moderate or Aggressive) based on the overall Bull/Bear trend (he used to recommend stop/less sell points until a couple years ago).

I have been following the newsletter for about 6 yrs now and I am very pleased (the auto-pilot program and other individualized programs are available as well). The day the market tanked 2 yrs ago, the Aggressive Model had already started moving me out of the market (still using the stop loss sell points) during that summer, and I was only 25% exposed. I obviously hit a stop loss on that first day, and at close of business I was completely out! The program started getting me back in about month or so after the bottom (Spring '09). Crunching the numbers comparing if I had stayed in vs following the model netted me about 140K more by staying with the Express Advisor model (13yrs of 401k, B fund, etc at that point)

The investment models from the newsletter do have me in some of those retirement funds from time to time. I still follow the aggressive model, which currently has me 19% in money market and 27% in each of 3 other funds! Pretty simple program to follow, investment changes (if any) are only made in the 1st week of each month (1st of 2 newsletters each month).

Go to Airline Pilots | Retirement | Financial | USPFA.ORG if you're interested in more information. Dave is very responsive to emails and phone calls! Costs nothing to check it out for yourself.

I get no benefit in recommending USPFA, other than I am happy customer and have done better than "setting and forgetting" my investments.

mikevio

Hey Guys,

Delta First Officer based in Los Angeles. I too have been looking at Rhodes Lucca. Spoke with Mr Lucca the other day about the autopilot program and as good as it sounds, it is a bit expensive for me at this point. 1.85% based on my portfolio. Looking at trying to follow the newsletter. Any thoughts on just following the newsletter exclusively? I have researched numerous newsletter and advisors. Delta also has contracted with Financial Engines. Most advisors and Financial Engines all recommend diversified portfolios using low cost index funds in an attempt to minimize risk. While I have read extensively about these types of portfolios and do believe they work, it is hard to ride the market down! Sounds like Mr. Lucca's portfolio/system does monitor risk. Anyway, I have also noticed the USPFA.org website has not got much attention nor traffic.

Anyway, just inquiring further of how confident guys are using Rhodes/Lucca.

Thanks!