5 things US boomers should never sell in retirement — even if you really want to get rid of them. How many do you own?

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Retirement can turn anyone into a ruthless declutterer.

Without a regular paycheck coming in, an unwanted investment or troublesome property can begin to look less like an asset and more like a source of ready cash. Selling may simplify your finances, eliminate responsibilities or provide money for something else you would rather enjoy.

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But some assets provide income, diversification, tax advantages or contractual benefits that can be difficult or impossible to recover once they are gone.

1. A diversified stock portfolio during a downturn

A market decline can feel especially frightening during retirement. When you no longer have decades of paychecks ahead of you, selling stocks and moving into cash can seem like the safest available choice.

Unfortunately, it can also lock in losses and prevent your portfolio from participating fully in the eventual recovery.

Fidelity warns that selling stocks early in retirement while markets are falling can have a permanent negative effect on a portfolio (1). This is part of sequence-of-returns risk: Withdrawing from a shrinking portfolio leaves fewer invested assets available to help you recover and support future withdrawals.

That does not mean you should retain an undiversified collection of speculative stocks or more stock exposure than you can tolerate. However, changing your long-term plan solely because markets have fallen can transform a temporary decline into permanent damage.

If you prefer a hands-off, tech-forward approach to maintaining an appropriate investment mix, Vanguard's Digital Advisor puts the investing expertise of one of the world's largest asset managers at your fingertips.

It builds a personalized portfolio using Vanguard's well-known low-cost ETFs and mutual funds , then uses automatic rebalancing to keep your investments aligned with your goals. The platform also provides retirement guidance and allows you to add new financial goals as your life evolves.

With a minimum investment of just $100 , professionally guided investing is relatively accessible. For every $10,000 held in an all-index portfolio, you will pay approximately $15 to $16 annually.