Tag: market timing

What is Market Timing?

Market timing is the investment strategy of attempting to buy stocks or funds at a low and selling them at a high.

market timing

Market timing is the investment strategy of attempting to buy stocks or funds at a low and selling them at a high. Timing buys and sells always seems so obvious in hindsight, but keep in mind that if any investor knew just when to buy or sell, they would acquire a large proportion of all the money in the world, and nobody ever does that.

Many investors start out with an exaggerated idea of the value and importance of market timing. Most eventually become disillusioned with it, after they figure out that it’s costing them money. Market timing can pay off sporadically, of course.

Although the results are largely random, successes and failures are apt to run in spurts. Good timing-based decisions often produce modest profits. However, they tend to be smaller than the losses you get from bad timing decisions.

The best market timing strategy is to buy steadily and carefully throughout your working years, and sell gradually in retirement. That approach is virtually certain to enhance your investing profits. For one thing, it stops you from selling all your stocks near a market bottom, which market timers do from time to time.

The worst market timing strategy you can adopt is to yield to hunches or jump to conclusions.

When it comes to stock trading advice, we pay close attention to market timing risk. That’s because you can never get away from unpredictable market risk, and it can cost you money to try.

Instead, use our three-part Successful Investor strategy:

  1. Invest mainly in well-established companies;
  2. Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
  3. Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

Discover how to make the most of your stock investments in this free special report, Stock Market Investing Strategy: Pat McKeough’s Conservative Investing Guide for Making Money & Cutting Risk, from TSI Network.

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