How you should proceed

Article Excerpt

In a sudden and deep stock-market drop like the one of the past few weeks, it’s all too easy to respond impulsively or go to extremes. You may feel a temptation to sell all your stocks and “wait for things to settle down” before going back in the market. Or you may feel an urge to “average down”: buy more of your biggest losers. That way you lower their average cost, even if you have to borrow. Our advice is that if your stock holdings made sense for you a few weeks ago, in light of your investment goals, financial circumstances and temperament, then you should hang on to them. To make money in the market, you should only invest in stocks when you can afford to and intend to hang on to them for a lengthy period, perhaps two to five years. Your plans may change due to circumstances you can’t control, of course. But if you go into the market…