>but what about if I have been in the stock market for 10+ years and I wanted to get out in the next month for my retirement? You shouldn't be. Unless you pla

>but what about if I have been in the stock market for 10+ years and I wanted to get out in the next month for my retirement? You shouldn't be. Unless you plan to die soon and really live it up, you should be have money you need now, money you need next year, money you need next decade, etc. When you approach retirement, you should start moving the money you need now (at the point of retirement) into much less volatile investments. A year later you should move the money you need next year (at the point of retirement) into a similar vehicle. As you get closer, each bucket of money eventually moves into the safest vehicle possible (FDIC insured savings/checking account, ready for you to use it in day to day transactions). At the point of retirement, assuming you plan to live for a few more decades, most of your money should still be in the market but what you need in the short term should be in cash already and what you need in the medium term should be in a low risk investment to protect against inflation. This is the general pattern, the exact situation depend upon your own financial situation, health situation, family situation, and many other factors that a financial/investment adviser would be able to help you with.