Retirement – How much to keep liquid?

If you are in your retirement years, consider keeping at least one to three years of your portfolio in cash or easily liquid investments such as money market funds or CD’s.

The average bear market has lasted 14 months; if you want to be ready for a typical bear market and not create problems by drawing too much down from your portfolio.

Consider keeping liquid enough to cover your monthly living expenses by at least 14 months.

You can shop around for the best paying yields; I suggest you use Bankrate.com to compare rates nationwide. Don’t forget US Saving Bonds Series I, currently paying 2.2 percent. The I bonds are adjusted every six months.

Don’t forget also to keep an emergency fund for unexpected expenses.

Proper portfolio management means keeping more of your wealth and having extra cash needed to buy investment bargains in a bear market or major stock market correction or pull back.

Dan