How would you invest for an 87 and 92-year-old who don't need to draw from their portfolio?
Looking for some thoughts on investing for my parents, ages 87 and 92. I’m helping them with their finances now and trying to determine what an appropriate portfolio looks like at this stage of life.
They’re in a fortunate position. They have **positive monthly cash flow** from Social Security, CD interest and a small pension, so they currently aren't drawing down their assets for normal living expenses (yet).
Their net worth is about **$1.35M**, including a roughly $166K paid-off condo. Financial assets are about **$1.18M**. The unusual part is that roughly **$850K is sitting in CDs, savings and checking**, so they are extremely cash heavy. They have another roughly **$330K in IRAs, a (new) Roth IRA and a CMA/brokerage account.**
I’m gradually helping with the investment side. Right now I have some of the money in Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs, with a tiny amount in individual stocks, less than 1%. I'm not looking to turn my 87 and 92-year-old parents into aggressive investors. 😂 I’m also converting roughly $25K a year from Mom’s Traditional IRA into her new Roth IRA. Dad’s IRA is more complicated. I don’t want to create an unnecessary additional tax hit, and he has dementia and can no longer understand complicated financial instructions or questions. The brokerage firms understandably want to speak directly with the account holder, so I’m looking into getting Mom and/or myself properly established as POA on his accounts. Until then, I’m leaving his accounts alone.
My priorities are pretty simple: **preserve capital, mitigate market risk, generate reasonable dividend/interest income, maintain enough liquidity for future healthcare or assisted-living expenses, and hopefully keep some growth in the portfolio so inflation doesn't slowly eat away at everything.**
So my question for those who have managed money at this age, either for themselves or their parents: **What would you actually own?**
How much would you keep in CDs/HYSA versus Treasuries, bond funds, dividend ETFs, broad-market index funds, etc.? And at 87 and 92, would you still maintain a meaningful equity allocation when they don't currently need the portfolio for living expenses?
I'm particularly interested in **specific funds/ETFs and allocations**, not just "60/40" or "put it all in VOO."
One additional consideration: I'm not trying to maximize what my brother and I inherit. If they eventually need assisted living or significant care, that's exactly what this money is there for. I'd much rather have them around another 10 years and spend a large chunk of it on them.