[jameslk]

The article is kind of fluffy. Not everyone should save and invest the same way. Someone who's closer to retirement shouldn't necessarily be investing like an "optimist" (i.e. more risky long-term portfolio), and they'll probably want more liquid assets than someone who's in their 20s with very limited obligations.

Having an emergency fund can benefit everyone but beyond that your portfolio should ideally be driven by your goals and their timeline. If you have no goals and you're just trying to make as much money as possible in the stock market like a lot of new retail investors, this definitely should be given some thought.

I think most could be better served by learning and applying goal-based investing and modern portfolio theory to achieve what this article is clumsily trying to suggest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal-based_investing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_portfolio_theory

[gingerlime]

My takeaway from the article was actually matching exactly what you're saying. You understand that investment in the long term should be profitable, but can be negative in the shorter term. And that's exactly why when you're younger you don't need to worry too much about bumps along the way, because you have a longer horizon. When you're older, your horizon is shorter and you have to adjust accordingly.

[sokoloff]

Unless you have more invested than you’ll plausibly need to withdraw, in which case your investment horizon can be longer than your lifetime. (My investing horizon is ideally more based on my future grandchildren’s lifespan than my own.)

[chii]

If your investment horizon is longer then your life time, then it means it's dynastic wealth, and is passed to your children/kin.

[peterwoerner]

You can also be thinking about trying to set your grandchildren up with a small inheritance (e.g. down payment on a moderate home). I wouldn't consider that dynastic wealth (they will still need to work) but it goes a long long way to making your grandchildren's life much, much easier.

[sokoloff]

Exactly. My parents gave me $10K towards my first house down payment and I plan to do similarly for my kids. I’m nowhere near on track to need to talk to a estate trust advisor, but I’m planning to have saved up more than 25x my annual income requirement in retirement; as a result, I’m very likely to die with a positive balance in my accounts.

Don’t worry too much: My kids will 100% have to work if they don’t want a sucky life.

[gingerlime]

very true. I was considering a narrower case. I think the key here is your own horizon (however near or far you see it)