Investing 102

[fearlessmark]

I've been going through this thread, but at 500+ pages, it may take a while...

I do have a question that may have been answered before. I currently have investments in a company 401k and a personal account invested in dividend stocks working toward compound interest. The question is, Is there ever a time when you should just liquidate everything to turn it into cash? The last downturn did a number on my investments, so I'm wondering if there is a threshold on this.

Again, sorry if this has been asked before.

-Mark