Is the ability to time the markets more of a data-driven science or a ‘gut – feeling’ art?
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.
Giving up too soon at the first sign of inconvenience often leads to missed opportunities among numerous individuals who try to trade on their own retirement. For example, many investors have forfeited immense chances waiting for the Basic Materials stocks to correct, only see the latter achieve new highs, move higher and drive the buyer markets to record levels: Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI), Balchem Corporation (BCPC), Sappi Ltd. (SPPJY), Trecora Resources (TREC), US Gold Corp (USAU)
Anxiety and eagerness regularly lead investors into psychological traps because most investors take cues from past market moves and trends instead of attempting to anticipate potential market moves.
Accomplished market timing requires three key components: 1) A dependable sign of when to get in and out of stocks. 2) The capacity to act upon signals quickly and accurately. 3) Have the stomach to act on market signals, no matter how counterintuitive the move may be.
The popular image of market timing is that it calls for making drastic, all-or-nothing moves at the precise, exact market top or bottom. There is a less well-known, rather simple market timing approach that has been used successfully by savvy investors like Warren Buffet for decades.
Rule 1: Never try and time tops and bottoms.
Abandoning the objective to time the tops and bottoms conclusively gives you the flexibility to profit, and extends your chance to benefit from the equity markets over the long-term whether your specific market timing calls are right or wrong.
Rule 2: Make an effort not to sell in the midst of little crashes. Muster the courage to trust your gut and buy best in class stocks at a discount.
Warren Buffett has made a great part of his fortune due to this simple rule. He cautions not to sell amid little crashes and to instead endure the temporary hardship and profit by concentrating on the long haul.
There is a big difference between a stock market crash and small correction. No matter what happens in the stock market, chances are that the stocks you own will eventually come back to their pre – crash value; hanging on to your original positions, or opportunistically averaging down, during market downs can be the shrew distraction to take. Warren Buffett takes this idea further by frequently going on purchasing binges when the markets turn, basically purchasing extra shares of his top stock picks at a major markdown and doubling – down on his very own recommendations.
A Risk Adjusted Trading Strategy Should be Followed for Your Retirement Assets
It’s just human that many surrender to emotions and attempt and game the framework by timing the market. But consider this: Nobel Laureate William Sharpe found in 1975 that a market timer would have to be accurate 74% of the time to beat a passive portfolio. Even a slight outperformance probably wouldn’t be worth the energy – and given that even the experts generally fail at it, market timing shouldn’t be your exclusive investing strategy of choice, especially using assets earmarked for your retirement.
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.
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