Just a couple of thoughts. No one gets killed in a down market if they don't sell. To be a successful market timer, you have to be right twice..... when to get in and when to get out. Every market timer has one success story of when they either got in or out at the right time. But I don't know of any that get it right consistently over the long term. Rolling a tax deferred account into an annuity only benefits the person selling the annuity.. Most annuities mainly benefit the person selling the annuity. Having at least a portion of a portfolio in stocks is important to keep up with inflation. An all cash portfolio may not have market risk, but it certainly bears inflation risk. Never sell equities based on fear or emotion. Chances are it will be the wrong decision in the long term. If you are retired and are relying on your portfolio for living expenses, it may be a good idea to have several years worth of living expenses in cash, so you don't have to sell equities at a loss during a bear market. If you have equities in your portfolio, you need to get used to fluctuations and volatility in your account value, it's part of the risk for long term reward.