Serious Investing for Your 80s (Ages 80-89)

• Investment policy statement: By the 80s the policy statement is mainly about simplicity and delegation: fewer accounts, one or two diversified funds, and an automatic withdrawal feeding monthly spending. Common mistake: Leaving complexity in place, such as many small accounts and several advisers, so that no single person can see the whole portfolio when the owner needs help or cannot act.
• Research sleeve: At 80 to 89, a research sleeve is mostly a question of whether the effort is still worth it, since following individual companies takes ongoing attention, and a health event can leave positions unmonitored, and care costs can arrive suddenly, so a set of volatile holdings is a poor place to find that cash. Common mistake: Leaving a complicated set of individual holdings with no written list or authorized delegate, so a spouse or family member cannot tell what is held or why during a health event.
• Concentration management: At 80 to 89 the priority shifts to simplicity and to avoiding a single point of failure. Common mistake: Leaving a decades-old single-stock holding untouched out of loyalty or habit, so a large unplanned care expense forces a sale at whatever price the market offers that month.
• Tax location: In the 80s the RMD divisor keeps shrinking, so the required fraction of each pre-tax account grows every year, and a miss carries a 25% penalty (10% if corrected promptly). Common mistake: Overlooking an old employer plan or small IRA when totaling the year's required distributions, so that one account's RMD is missed and the 25% penalty applies.
• Rebalancing: At 80 to 89 the rebalancing rule is deliberately short. Common mistake: Keeping a frequent, detailed rebalancing routine that only the owner understands, so a gap in health or attention leaves the portfolio with no one able to follow the process.
• Scenario testing: At 80 to 89, scenario testing moves from market returns to costs and capacity, because a care event, such as assisted living or in-home help, is the stress most likely to dominate, and it can arrive in a year when markets are down, so testing should show how many years of care costs the assets cover and which accounts would be drawn first. Common mistake: Stress-testing only a stock market decline and ignoring a multi-year care cost, which can matter more to whether assets last for the person's remaining lifetime.
• Security research: In the 80s research becomes a question of who is doing it. Common mistake: Acting on an unsolicited call, mailer or message that presents itself as research or a limited-time opportunity, without first confirming the sender and discussing it with a trusted second person.
• Exit rules: At 80 to 89, an exit rule should be short enough to follow when attention is limited. Common mistake: Leaving exit instructions only in the owner's head or on scattered notes, so a delegate or family member has to guess which accounts to sell first when care costs begin.

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