Helping My Parents, 65 And 55, Invest Their Iras. Thoughts On 75% Stocks / 25% Bonds?
My parents have done well running businesses, but investing has never been their area of expertise. I’m helping them simplify their IRAs and would appreciate feedback on the allocation I’m considering.
Their situation:
My dad is 65 and owns several gas stations. He has no plans to retire anytime soon and wants to keep working as long as he can.
My mom is 55. Stay at home mom
They each have around $100,000 in their IRA. My dad has slightly more and my mom slightly less.
They don’t currently expect to need this money for living expenses, but they haven’t established a specific withdrawal timeline.
About five years ago, my aunt became a New York Life agent and helped them open IRAs, which they’ve contributed to monthly. Looking through the investments, I found fund expenses of roughly 0.9%, or $900 annually on a $100,000 balance. Returns appear to have averaged around 7% annually, but I’d like to reduce the ongoing costs.
Last week, I helped them open Schwab IRAs and transferred the balances over in cash. I also opened a Roth IRA for my dad. By “manage,” I mean help them buy and hold low-cost index funds and periodically rebalance.
Here’s the allocation I’m considering for each traditional IRA:
52% VTI: US stocks
23% VXUS: International stocks
25% BND: US bonds
The goal is long term growth while keeping the risk appropriate for their ages and eventual withdrawals. My dad’s required minimum distributions should begin in about 10 years, though they could need money sooner.
What I’d appreciate feedback on:
Is 75% stocks / 25% bonds reasonable given their ages and continued business income?
Would you use different allocations for them because of the 10 year age gap?
Does the US versus international stock split make sense?
What information about their finances or comfort with losses should I clarify before choosing an allocation?
I have a meeting with my financial advisor next month. In the meantime, I’d like to understand how others would approach this and what I might be overlooking.
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