Have you ever dreamed of being that one in a million investor who has the talent to perfectly time the markets?
Even among those who don’t aspire to be the perfect market timer, many think they can call a top and act accordingly. It’s at these times when investors choose to sit on the sidelines and wait for a ‘perceived’ better opportunity to invest in the market.
Individual investors who focus their efforts on timing the market typically miss chances. For example, many investors have overlooked chances to benefit from buying the Basic Materials stocks at the first opportunity, by attempting to buy them during a pullback only to see these stocks accomplish new unsurpassed highs: Arch Coal Inc. (ARCH), Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (ACH), Mercer International Inc. (MERC), Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD)
Investment emotional triggers (fear and greed) can lead to costly mental mistakes by investors who typically fall into the trap of being a market follower instead of a market leader.
Productive market timing requires three key parts: 1) A dependable sign for when to get in and out of stocks. 2) The ability to follow up on the sign rapidly and precisely. 3) The ability to be completely unemotional and trust in the signal no matter the current market environment.
Many investors believe that market timing is a short-term investment strategy. There is a less known, more effective, longer-term market timing approach that has been used successfully by astute investors like Warren Buffet.
Rule 1: Never try and time tops and bottoms.
Abandoning the goal to time the tops and bottoms precisely gives you the flexibility to profit, thereby increasing your chances to lock in built-up profits even if your calls aren’t exactly right.
Rule 2: Try not to sell amid little crashes – instead exploit the opportunity by buying.
Warren Buffett has made an incredible piece of his fortune because of this basic standard. He cautions not to sell during little crashes, and encourages enduring them by concentrating on the long haul.
There is a key distinction between a small correction and a market crash. If you own shares of a company that is well – established and has strong fundamentals, they are probably going to rebound to their pre – crash prices eventually, thereby rendering holding on a wise decision. Warren Buffett takes this idea one step further and often goes on a buying spree when markets turn, essentially buying additional shares of his top stock picks at a big discount and listening to his own advice, ‘Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.’
When It Comes to Trading Your Retirement, A Risk Adjusted Trading Strategy Should be Followed
It’s just human that many surrender to emotions and attempt and game the framework by timing the market. But, think about this: Nobel Laureate William Sharpe found in 1975 that a market timer would need to be precise 74% of the time to beat a passive portfolio. Indeed, even a slight outperformance most likely wouldn’t justify the efforts – and given that even the specialists for the most part come up short at it, market timing shouldn’t be your exclusive methodology for investing, particularly when it comes to building your retirement nest egg.
Actively trading for alpha, outsized, short – term gains through market timing and other high – risk trading strategies is fine with a small portion of your investable assets, but for your longer – term retirement assets, a “risk -adjusted focused” investment solution generally makes more sense.
If you’d like to learn how to ‘super-charge’ your retirement assets, get our free report:
Will You Retire as a Multi-Millionaire? 7 Things You Can Do Now.
This report can help you maximize your retirement nest-egg without the high risk of attempting to successfully time the markets. Click here for free report>>
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research