I was 52 in 2000 and way over loaded on tech stocks, and I had thought about retiring at 55. Well I thought that dream had ended. I didn't sell, I continued buying but in a more diverse way. When I was 55 I had recovered all I had lost and more and told my boss I was ready to retire if he didn't keep me happy. At 57 the corporation was offering buy outs and I qualified, so I bailed, that was 2005. I road out the 2008 dip without much concern and I plan to ride this one out. By the way I have done most of my own investing since I started, I read a lot and still do. The one time I decided to put some money in the hands of an "expert" he managed to lose half of it in about two years and talked me out of buying Apple at a split adjust price that would have been a $1/share.