I just looked at CAPE since its inception, 7.5y ago, 10/12, and noted its >10% superiority to SPY. (Even moreso compared w/ the div and low-vol etfs listed above.)
So if you are a long-termer (at 73- I have only so many terms left) I believe you will be hard-pressed to find something reliably outperforming SPY over time. Would like to know examples.
Did not look to MFOP to screen for LCG like the named winners from TRP and Fido, also Polix and Akre, yet I am sure they have outperformed CAPE. But who else?
Given AGG's relative outperformance recently, am thinking it plus CAPE in some proportion could be my new retirement grail.

@charles -assuming you meant this > "Assess your portfolio--but don't obsess"?
Thanks ! not obsessing just trying to make lemonade. I am close to retirement, but still running business. These are all in taxable accounts. I am not touching my 401k .

@johnN It depends on each persons situation. I am 15 years into retirement. Our investment income currently contributes 25% to 30% to our annual household cash flow. But we can get by comfortably -- with a more modest lifestyle -- if that % drops to zero (the amount available to us this year will go down substantially from 30% if the market does not quickly rebound). My approach is different than would be necessary for a person who would be highly dependent on that income in retirement. Maybe other comments will help in that regard.

Experience tell me in order to fully recover the loss that would be time, recovery time that is. During 2008 drawdown, S&P500 index took over 4 years to full recovery the loss from peak to trough. Depending on your asset allocation, it may be shorter (hopefully not longer).
At presence the sell-off is severe, i.e. the rate of decline is even steeper than 2008. There are days when the supposedly opposite asset classes such as bond vs. equity move in the same direction, which indicates panic selling to cash. So jumping to one ship on fire to another is not a viable option to recover the loss.
If you follow Charles Bolin article on MFO, he is near retirement and his portfolio is constructed very conservatively with 20% equity. He should be doing quite well now considering S&P 500 index is down over 30% as of 3/20/2020.

Hi @_Bobpa
I am not investment guru/expert, but I would imagine betting on more aggressive heavily stock driven portfolio [90/10], or Emerging market/oversea products may get you back to previous peak soon if there is indeed recovery. Many predict maybe few years before we see dows at 30000 levels. Others say recessions on horizon and unemployment rate maybe extremely high in near future and severe economiccontractions.
For us late 40 years old, has many years until retirement, our portfolio still comprise 80/20, mostly index products. We are also couch potatoes thus we do hold Tdf 2045 funds in vanguard and schwab. We did not sell, hoping for market to recover soon
Our largest holders currently :
Brk.b
Vanguard primecap core
Vanguard emergent market etf VWO
EEM
Wellington fund vwelx
Vanguard star vgstx
Fbnd
Bnd
Vti
Voo
Been adding vde qqq and vti last week, even going all way downs
Probably will sell good holding bonds [private-corp bbb ] soon, would need cash to pay uncle Sam 2019 tax next few weeks.
Regards

I’ve been trying to access the My Social Security website all day and it will not let me log into my account. Has anyone else had similar problems? The SS site itself is still open, but I cannot access my personal information. This is troubling because I have read that SS has closed its offices to visitors and they were directing people to use their website. I am considering whether to start receiving SS payments (I have already reached full retirement age) but can’t do that if offices are closed and website doesn’t work.

It seems to me that with respect to "when to start buying" equities/equity funds the decision should mainly be based on two factors:
• How close are you to retirement?
• Do you believe that the equity markets will eventually recover and continue to operate as they have historically?
If you have five to ten years left to accumulate before retirement, and you believe that the markets will, in time, recover, then what's the problem with buying right now? There's a "1/3 off sale" going on even as we sit here.
If you're a little early, the market will decline even more before stabilizing and beginning another upward cycle. If you prefer to buy a little now, and maybe a bit more each week for a while, you will either get even better prices or maybe pay just a bit more, depending on what the markets do. Nobody knows exactly when we will hit bottom, but we're certainly in a good buying area right now.
Please note that I'm restricting my perspective to the equity market. What the bond market will do is being manipulated by so many outside actors that it's impossible to know what's going to happen. I'll leave the bond commentary to my friend Catch22.

best of all, you could post about it here, like those who got out end Feb (or whatever) and went to cash etc etc etc,
unlike those down a half-mil in retirement

The idea of "going to cash" is pretty silly for anyone with real money outside of a tax sheltered account, and very dangerous for those even in a tax sheltered account. The getting out part is relatively easy except for the taxes involved. It didn't take a genius to know we are entering a down period towards the beginning of this month. It's the getting back in part that is so hard. I have used all kinds of charts and techniques over the years in many sectors (especially playing commodities) and have learned that "get back in" signals can be very false. You think the worst is over and get in...only to drop another 60% from there. Just look at natural gas, for example. Then you're afraid to get back in...only to see a massive (often unexplained) rip to the upside while sitting in your cash. Yes, some will win big with their great calls and will post here. The losers not so much. Every transaction in the history of every market had a buyer and a seller. I'd wager a lot that those who stand still will come out ahead over the long term...I suspect that those staying pat with things like vwenx, vwiax, btbfx, pimix will do fine with their likely "mere" 6-7% returns over the next decade or so after this mess clears. Of course this time may be different (highly doubt it) but I can't live on MM returns. My personal strategy is to always be 30%-50% in cash and to nibble in down periods (especially killer down days) and to stand pat most other times. Down 13% YTD and consider myself "lucky." Good luck all, and stay safe!

best of all, you could post about it here, like those who got out end Feb (or whatever) and went to cash etc etc etc,
unlike those down a half-mil in retirement

@Old_Joe I don't think going into cash is an idea only for old people. There is no reason younger people should not be smart, is there?
I feel good I protected my retirement accounts by "panicking" right about the time I received the first unsolicited email in my inbox that said "don't panic". Every time after that I received another "don't panic" email I wanted to reply "but I already panicked the first time you told me not too", but replies bounced. Then I got some "its too late to sell now" and I only hoped others getting that email didn't read it, but what do I know?
I'm happy to report I got out of the market mostly with a loss of 7-10% in my 401k accounts. In my IRA, I'm hedging my conservative portfolio with some 2x short funds and depending on the day am sitting on a 7 - 10% loss. Above all, I decided I will make my own mistakes rather than some Harvard or Columbia MBA tell me what to do when, and I'm glad that I did.
In my taxable portfolio, I was 33% invested because a wise person once told me, NEVER invest more than 33% of your cash. I know other people called that person stupid, I know different. I am very gradually going to start adding to funds I like in my taxable portfolio and use this opportunity to cull my funds until I keep getting back to 33% invested. Nothing like a reality check to see whether the funds you own are those you really want to hold for the long (sic) term.
All the best to you.

Hi sir @old_joe. Perhaps you are right sir,
If near retirement, probably need to sell everything Monday and put in 100%cash/CDs...nothing is working
If still have many years probably continued to buy and DCA
Maybe best time to buy new car or home in 4-6months if there is severe USA Recession

@hank: Is the answer Infinite ? While you were fully invested I was the opposite, to much so !!
With my Schwab account down 22.14 % YTD, I don't think that's to funny ! How are you doing ?
Since 01/01/2020 I've put 7.3 % of total starting portfolio to work. Approximate half before the down draft. So I'm not throwing a large % into the fire.
parsig9, from above, is investing a lot more than me , but to be fair he has a (few) years to go to retirement & I've been there for ten years.
You commented, "What about the current situation makes one bullish at this juncture ."
Nothing about this situation makes me bullish at this time. Down the line things will turn & Mr . Market will catch his breathe & rise again. Or are things different time ?
Have a good evening , Derf

It keeps going down down down...probably sit this one out for couple of wks until dust settles
One of my friend met chief of infectious disease physician [50+ plus experiences] of Large Major Hospital in Austin Tx states things maybe settling in 4-6 wks/slow down...he also says he has see anything like this before but it will pass. Less flu/cold and SARS and hopefully cousins of SARS Covid19 at mid april/warmer weather, less incident of transmissions. That is what we are hoping for. Will it last one year, he does not think so. Will it last few months? Maybe.
We are still keeping our 80/20 in our 401k and retirement portfolio, DCA with continuous bimonthly distributions but probably wont add more monies for now.
Plus we have to pay uncle Sam 2019 tax soon [april now july 15 tax deadlines]
Maybe we are hovering near the bottom, but this is what some folks say last wk. Maybe new bottom today
well at least the USA death rates hovering 1.4% but probably will be much lower next wk once have more data and less panic. 85s-90s% of infectious personnel show very little nor no symptoms, only old and sick patients have issues.
China/Hong Kong and S.Korea are easing out slowly now. US will soon follow, don't know about Italy + EU though
regards

Spent 12% of my portfolio on PRFDX, PRDGX, TRVLX . Bit on PRNEX too. I will start moving around 5% a week from my cash equivalent funds into equity until it's gone. I am comfortable buying from here down to oblivion. I have 15- 20 years to retirement.

@Tarwheel, if family longevity factor is a concern, taking SS at your full retirement age makes sense. Here is more information from Vanguard on the cost-risk analysis and break even point.
https://investor.vanguard.com/retirement/social-security/what-is-social-security

My plan for our retirement income needs was to rely on our pensions to pay the bills and draw from taxable savings for extra expenses. We delayed my wife’s Social Security payments until she reached full retirement age (66) and planned to delay my SS to age 70 — unless we needed the money. We still don’t need the money, however, I’m starting to consider starting SS earlier and investing the cash while stocks are getting pummeled. I’m 66 now.
The guaranteed 8% annual increase in SS payments was my primary incentive for delaying, but with a bear market underway, I might be able to match or exceed that percentage through my investments. We also have our IRAs and 401Ks to rely on, but I don’t want to start withdrawing from them until we have to meet required minimum distributions. I have been converting a portion of our IRAs to Roth accounts each year at a rate that doesn’t push us to a higher tax bracket. However, if I start drawing SS, that will push us from the 12% to the 22% bracket, so I’m still not sure that’s a good idea, even with depressed stock prices.
Any opinions?

One of the most aggressive "allocators" I have run across is American Association of Individual Investors "Level three" portfolio. James Cloonan spends an entire book trying to prove that there has never been a period longer than five years where the market has not recovered.
I looked at SPY from it's peak in 2008 and discovered that in fact it took seven years if I remember. In the 1930s it took longer if you start at the very peak.
70 % is probably too heavy a stock allocation that close to retirement if he needs to live on the assets at retirement. It is probably too late to do anything, but I think this will rival the drop in 2003-2009 which was 45% so if it will torture him in the next seven or more years he could lighten up stocks, but no one can tell him when.
Will the market be higher sometime between now and when he retires? Probably but who knows?
THE WSJ has a chart of the price at various levels of PE but no one knows what the E will be. We are also seeing a dramatic de risking so the PE will clearly fall
I am on the pessimistic side and I think calls that this will be over in early summer are too optimistic. It may slow but will probably come back until their is an effective vaccine.
Having said that there will probably be a better time to reduce his equity exposure in the months ahead

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915802/000139834420006030/fp0051857_497.htm
FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST
SUPPLEMENT DATED MARCH 16, 2020 TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES AND
PROSPECTUS FOR THE GRANDEUR PEAK GLOBAL MICRO CAP FUND AND GRANDEUR
PEAK INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (EACH A "FUND," AND TOGETHER,
THE "FUNDS") DATED AUGUST 31, 2019
Effective March 18, 2020, the Grandeur Peak Global Micro Cap Fund will reopen to shareholders who currently hold a position in the Fund. Financial advisors with clients in the Fund will be able to invest in the Fund for both existing as well as new clients. The Fund is already open to all participants of retirement plans currently holding a position in the Fund.
Also, effective March 18, 2020, the Grandeur Peak International Opportunities Fund will reopen through financial intermediaries to financial advisors who currently hold a position in the Fund. Financial advisors with clients in the Fund will be able to invest in the Fund for both existing as well as new clients. The Fund is already open to all participants in existing retirement plans in the Fund. The Fund is also already open to both existing and new shareholders who purchase directly from Grandeur Peak Funds.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

"The last time the stock market saw declines like we’re experiencing, Congress suspended RMDs for one year. Because of the dramatic decline in retirements accounts, RMDs due in 2009 were suspended. The waiver also applied for people who turned 70½ in 2009 but decided to delay their withdrawal until April 1, 2010.
I’m sure such a waiver for RMDs due this year would be a welcome relief to many people who are looking at taking withdrawals when their retirement accounts have experienced major declines."
If one has (CASH) sitting in account due for RMD, take the RMD, pay the taxes & then put what is left of distribution to work !
What say he or her ?
Derf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robisbitts2/2020/03/16/crash-course-to-beat-bear-markets-invest-differently/#18d977e7e023
Crash Course: To Beat Bear Markets, Invest Differently
At a time where many investors are in sudden panic mode, investors who have developed an all-weather approach to investing are weathering the storm. Since history tells us that bear markets, like bull markets, tend to be much deeper and longer than most expect, it is not too late to learn and implement some approaches that will help keep your emotions in check, and your retirement plans intact.