Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's horsemen could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
The Stock Market has had a great fall and all the brokers, CEOs, analysts and politicians have not been able to get it back up again.
Oh, it will go up again, but if history has a way of repeating it will be a long time before we see it at "even". From 1920 to the present there have been 3 major bull markets lasting close to 16 years. Unfortunately, each has been followed by a bear market of about the same length of time. So far we are ending the 3rd year of the projected down cycle with only 13 more years to get to the bottom. It is a long way off.
At a recent investment seminar one of the speakers asked his large audience if they believed the stock market would be higher 5 years from now. Every one except one thought it would be. The current mindset of most investors believes this also. For the period from 1982 to 2000 (18 years, close enough) there has been a bull market. Every investor has considered himself to be a financial genius during that time. There is an old saying, "The market makes fools of us all ? sooner or later".
Unless you learn to listen to what the market is saying and not your broker, you will be able to recoup some of your losses, but probably not all. During this long-term bear called a secular bear market, your main effort will not be to make money but to keep from losing more. During a bear market the one who loses the least is a winner. You may not like what I say, but history has that strange way of doing it over and over.
Maybe I am wrong about it because "this time it is different". I hope so, but you can protect your money in your 401K or elsewhere with a simple loss limit order. Call your broker and have him place a 10% (or whatever number your prefer) stop-loss order on all your positions. That way you don't guess about where to sell; you let the market tell you when it has turned weak.
Brokers and brokerage companies hate stop-loss orders and will try to talk you out of it. Ask him if he will guarantee your portfolio. You can bet he isn't that dumb. It is your money. Once it is gone you will have very little chance of getting it back. Protect what you have left.
Don't be a Humpty Dumpty!
Al Thomas
Author of "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!"
Never lose money in the stock market again.
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
family-safe home cleaners Morton Grove ..Let's hope you did not have any of the Enron... Read More
Starbucks earnings are up again and so is their stock... Read More
The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
It is commonly reported that the stock market averages about... Read More
Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
Ever notice how behavior in one area of life can... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
An investor can find and research the best stock on... Read More
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like... Read More
Its dinnertime and the phone rings. It's Joe Noname with... Read More
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
I often play a little game with myself when I... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
Every day I hear someone on CNBC proclaim that "this... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
How many people went to a cash position this week?... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading... Read More
Every publicly traded company is required by the SEC(Securities and... Read More
If you don't know where you are going any road... Read More
You'd have had to be living on a desert island... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
home cleaning services Wilmette ..It has been said that low cost or even free... Read More
Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
Are you attracted to the idea of being in control... Read More
Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
The big bad bear is stirring again. So far he... Read More
As a novice trader, you'll often feel the need to... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
During the day I watch CNBC-TV, the stock market channel.... Read More
If you don't know what a Roth IRA is then... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
With all the bad news that has been dumped upon... Read More
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in... Read More
I'll bet with almost anyone that has stocks or mutual... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Is really not as important as to how you invest... Read More
Sometimes the best way of lowering exposure to risk is... Read More
At some time in your life you have been on... Read More
Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |