Personal Finance and Investing

He picked the WORST time to get out of stocks. If a Democrat wins the White House, historically market returns have been exceptional. If a Repub wins, then consider getting out because returns are generally poor. 2008 was a great investing opportunity, not a time to sell. If a Repub wins in 2016, I would get out of stocks. That is the only proven timing method.

The markets go up, the markets go down. Sometimes the movements are frightening and people react in exactly the wrong manner. Your husband panicked when the market fell. Now he is afraid to invest because it is "too high". He should not be investing in the market at all if he feels uncomfortable accepting the risk involved. Seriously! Better to take small returns of safer investments and sleep well.

No one here can honestly tell you that now is a good time to buy or sell stocks. Since your husband has over 10 years to retirement, he can weather any downturns by simply holding on to stocks of solid companies. Don't panic when the market drops, don't get too excited when it rises. The best stock investment vehicle for him is probably a no load S&P 500 index fund--like Vanguard. Invest what you are comfortable having at risk and nothing more. Buy and hold for the long term.