mathjak107 wrote:
More money has been lost trying to buy low and sell high than any other mantra.
We all thought low was when we fell 2000 points in 2008-2009. Who knew we had 4000 more to go.
Many investors ended up hitting stop losses or running for the exits.
What makes money more times than not is buying high and selling higher. The trend is your friend as they say.
Trying to time where low is rarely ends well. In fact more money in gains is generally given up waiting for that dip then you gain.
I do have a stop, it's 2070 on the S&P. My gamble, and it is a gamble, is that if we get a stumble, and I can buy the S&P500 index lower than were it is, but still above the stop, then maybe there will be a bounce back and the Trumpmania will resume. The worst case is, it goes down lower, I hit my stop, and I'm out. If I buy at 2170 and sell at 2070, I lose 5% on those shares, of less than 1% of my total portfolio.
My real pain is if I get stopped out, and them some bozo central banker then announces "free ice cream!" and markets reply, "huzzah" and the bubble inflation begins anew... then I'm whipsawed. But, I will ultimately have the last laugh (cry).