The advice I've received is to pick index funds and stick with them long term. While I haven't exactly been in them for years since I've been actively investing, these funds have a good chunk of my non-retirement brokerage account. Yet, they are floundering so hard compared to the rest of my portfolio that I'm wondering if they're a giant mistake. Heck, FNCMX is doing even worse, going negative since I bought into it, and FFNOX isn't doing that well either. Index funds in general seem like they're not doing very well.

Did I pick wrong, or is this just the time we're living in that's causing these funds to perform poorly? Do I just need more patience?

Any guidance for a newer investor would be appreciated.

I bought into FNILX and FXAIX mid-last year. FNCMX, the Nasdaq one, is more recent. I'm thinking of getting out of that one once it goes reasonably positive.

Waffledynamics said:

---

I bought into FNILX and FXAIX mid-last year. FNCMX, the Nasdaq one, is more recent. I'm thinking of getting out of that one once it goes reasonably positive.

---

All 3 of those are going to have major overlap. You can simplify by picking just one. FXAIX is a great choice.

The market goes up and down. Over longer time horizons, the odds of going up increase. Just give it time. In fact, maybe don't even look at it more than once a month for a while. Or even once per quarter.

Some of my most successful investing has occurred when I didn't look at it for a year or more. Because you're not tempted to tweak it.

My go to ETF is IGM. Used to be designated as the North America Technology ETF or something similar.

It's performance during the past It has a return of around 3% over the last six months. Its performance over the last year is around 27%. Your FNLX has similar results. (SPY is around 18%).

I prefer to use ETFs to invest in as one can trade in and out of them easier which, for some, may be a hindrance.

Ron

I am by no means an expert...maybe slightly above novice, so take this FWIW.

I have the bulk (roughly 80%) of my "don't need right now" cash invested in FLCSX and FSKAX. Both have been very good to me. There is a fair amount of overlap between the two, but they have performed significantly differently.

The remainder of my cash, I move around to more specific funds, just to try to take advantage of industries that are doing well in the shorter term.

I stayed in a chemicals fund for WAY too long. Finally sold that and moved some money into defense (FSDAX) and precious metals (EKWAX). I also put some money in a construction fund (FSHOX) back around Covid, when construction costs went crazy, and it's also done well. I don't expect to stay in these funds for the long term, but as long as they are doing well, I'll leave them be.

This is not an account I regularly add more money too, just one that I initially funded and have let grow over time. I'm sure I could be more aggressive, but by my goals and standards, these picks have served me well.

1 year returns are 22%, 5 are 53%, 10 are 242%, and total return since my original investment is 162%

Fidelity's FXAIX numbers (on their website) are slightly different from yours, but nothing to quibble over. The numbers for FLCSX and FXAIX are VERY similar (as are the numbers for FSKAX, for that matter). And honestly, I can't say why I'm in one over the other (which is why I call myself barely better than a novice).

But to your point - find some solid funds, invest, and forget about it most of the time, save for some periodic reviews just to make sure things are still as you expect.