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Buy and Hold Investment Strategy
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment strategies promoted today. "Buy and hold" is also one of the few investment methods where you are guaranteed to lose money 2 out of every 5 years...so why do it? Before expanding on the questionable value of "buy and hold", it's probably best to take a deeper look into who's spending their millions of dollars of marketing money convincing you that "buy and hold" is the best idea and why. "Buy and Hold" Promoters "Buy and hold" promoters vary but I'm going to single out the mutual fund( http://www.stockrhythms.com/investing-in-mutual-funds.htm ) companies at this point since they seem to have the deepest advertising pockets and are highly visible in their promotion of "buy and hold". Mutual funds have a strong vested interest in having you buy into the "buy and hold" mentality since their entire business model depends upon the average investor keeping their money parked...through good times and bad. Remember, the mutual fund companies are earning a profit from your investment even while you are accepting losses! So "buy and hold" is really the greatest investment strategy available, it's just a matter of perspective. If you like that your mutual fund company profits while the Bear Market ravages your account value, then "buy and hold" is for you! So let's look at some data to see how this really works. "Buy and Hold" Facts Between 1929 and 2002, there have been 14 Bear Markets with an average of 39% slashed off the value of stocks. During this 74 year period, it took an average of 3.5 years to return to breakeven! Every time a "buy and hold" investor loses money in a down market, they lose invaluable time to reaching their financial goal. After eliminating overlapping Bear Markets, 41 years were spent suffering through a Bear Market or returning to break even. In other words, "buy and hold" investors spend 2/3 of their time just to break even! "Buy and Hold" Myths My favorite myth or scare tactic used by investment gurus is; "buy and hold" investing is critical since you cannot afford to miss the bull run when it hits. And they go on to cite what happens to those that miss the "big days". Ah...good point, what does happen? If you would have invested $100 in 1926 and just left it there until 1993, your investment would have climbed to $80,000. Conversely, if you had tried to time the market and missed the 30 best months, your investment would have only been worth $1,200. "Buy and Hold" Does Work Better? So I've just convinced you that "buy and hold" does work better right? But what would have happened if you used market timing and missed the 30 best months and missed the 30 worst months? Your investment would now be worth $120,000 or 50% more than simple "buy and hold". Not to get too carried away but if you had avoided the 30 worst months and still managed to hit the 30 best months, your investment would have increased to an astronomical $8,600,000. Now I'm not going to try to convince you that market timing is going to hit every winner and miss every loser but I also don't think it's fair for the "buy and hold" advocates to represent only one side of the equation to their benefit either. "Buy and hold" is a guaranteed method of losing money during every Bear Market. Give yourself a fighting chance by looking at a better way to invest. "Buy and Hold" Replacement So how do you avoid losing money every Bear Market with "buy and hold"? The simple answer is "get out of the stock market when it's the Bears turn". Of course, that's usually harder to do than to say. This is where we can help you to become a better stock market investor. Not only are we going to show you how to avoid the Bear Market losses, we're going to show you how to profit from the Bull Market and then turn around and profit from the Bear Market. And I'm not talking about extreme market timing, I'm talking about a conservative, time tested investment process. A Better Investment Plan There is a better way to position yourself for a higher probability of investment profits than extreme market timing( http://www.stockrhythms.com/market-timing.htm )or passive "buy and hold". One that has been tested and proven with over 74 Years of Stock Market Research! Our proprietary Olympic Ring( http://www.stockrhythms.com/how_it_works.htm ) investment system has been issuing profitable trading signals, trade after trade, year after year, and we can start doing it for you too! Maximize your returns while lowering your overall risk through the use of a highly scientific and emotion free system. And unlike the "buy and hold" investment plan, you'll be positioned to profit from the Bear Market and the Bull Market. Now won't that be a change! Let us show you a better way to invest! Call us(toll free: 877-554-4800) today to learn how we can help you earn a profit in both directions. Or download a FREE COPY of our stock market investment book( http://www.stockrhythms.com/mutual-fund-book.htm ) so you can learn from the past to earn in the future - Invest With History ---------------------------------------------- Copyright: www.StockRhythms.com You can reproduce this article as long as you leave this copy right statement unchanged. Gary J
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Making a Stock Watch List I am taking the time to help others learn the basics in evaluating stocks for investment using both fundamental and technical analysis. Both tools are equally important in making serious decisions with your hard earned CASH! Investing in Dividend Paying Stocks I was recently interviewed for a press release through a financial question and answer format. One of the questions asked of me in the interview was: Buy and Hold Investment Strategy "Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment strategies promoted today. "Buy and hold" is also one of the few investment methods where you are guaranteed to lose money 2 out of every 5 years...so why do it? Forces that Move Stock Prices Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation, interest rates, bonds, commodities and currencies. 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The Cub; II We keep hearing about this bear market and that the bottom is "in" or "very close" so we should be invested in these bargain basement prices to take advantage of the next bull so we won't lose out on the expected huge profits. Value Investing: Selecting From The Bargain Bin Picking a beaten-down stock requires a different kind of selection process. Normally, most companies beaten down this far have no earnings to speak of. Of course, if the company continues to earn money, one can apply normal valuation techniques. By that measure, many of these stocks appear outrageously undervalued: an indication of great buys. But this may also be a red flag that things are "too good to be true". The Problem With Hedge Funds Are hedge funds a suitable investment for you? Hedge funds are an appropriate investment for qualified purchasers with a net worth above one million dollars and an annual income exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Purchasers are often required to sign an acknowledgement confirming their qualifications to invest in hedge funds. However, just because one is qualified to invest in a hedge fund doesn't necessarily mean they should do so. There is a major problem with this type of investment. Oftentimes, the risk associated with the fund is misrepresented, leading to investors being misguided into skewing their qualifications. Psychology ? How to Reduce Negative Thoughts Relating to Trading? The thinking process of the brain relating to the psychology of trading involves: Market Success Who are the successful investors? E-mini Day Trading - Day Trading for Beginners - Stock Market Timing Software I mean it when I say that. While plastic silverware is fine for picnics and parties, it is totally inappropriate in a surgeon's hand with an open brain in front of him. 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Let's go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds are such a bad deal. When Arthur Levitt became the head of the Security Exchange Commission in 1993 he had to sell off all of his individual stocks so that people would not claim that he was doing any dirty inside dealing. He decided to put the cash from selling off his stock portfolio into mutual funds. Bottoms Ups If you have talked to a stock broker or financial planner in the last few days I will bet they all agree that there are some great bargains out there and now is the time to start buying in anticipation that the market will go back up. You will also find agreement from the talking heads on CNBC and those talk radio station stock mavens. No one says sell. It looks like bottom pickers heaven. |
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