I just sold it all

[renferme]

Not quite sure why, call me a dirty market timer, but I just sold all of my assets in my 401k and put them in the money market fund. Now the hard part is to figure out how and when I want to start investing again. It is only about 50k that I have invested. I am only up about 8% for the year. Thoughts, suggestions, insults..?

Don't know your age, but you can get about 5% in mmf right now; that's not bad.
If you're young, wait for a good time to re-invest that money. What's a good time;
who knows? I'm not a market timer.
But if you have 20 or more years to retire, you really should get at least 50% into the market and hold on.
BTW, at a 5% return, it will take about 14 years for that money to double.
I assume you're putting money in each month.

 

[TromboneAl]

To put this in perspective, if you look at some posts on this forum in 2002, and 2003, you'll see some people saying the same thing: "I'm putting my money in cash because interest rates are going up, and there might be a crash."

 

[FinanceDude]

To put this in perspective, if you look at some posts on this forum in 2002, and 2003, you'll see some people saying the same thing: "I'm putting my money in cash because interest rates are going up, and there might be a crash."

Bottom line, you couldn't GIVE a stock away in the summer of 2002.............exactly the right time to invest...........

 

[semtex]

To invest at 2003 need tons of guts, I bot QQQ at 19.92, a few cents to the low. Took small profit and ran.

 

[maddythebeagle]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061004/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

----DOW AT NEW HIGH....is it time to get back in

 

[docbells]

Haven't heard from the OP in a while - Is he still happy with the decision to remove all his money from the market?

 

[brewer12345]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061004/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

----DOW AT NEW HIGH....is it time to get back in

Dunno, is Mercury retrograde yet?

 

[CybrMike]

Since the time you've taken your money out, the market has went up several percentage points. But, this is the same thing that happened in May. Then a few weeks in it all crashed. Who knows, every time I try to time it, I never know when to get back in. So, I just stay in.

 

[Mwsinron]

Wow talk about missing a huge run up

 

[Ponks]

Better to just let your portfolio work itself out, rebalancing when necessary, then allow fear and greed to take over your decisions. Emotion free is key!

John

 

[donheff]

MickyJ - You need to figure out why you are saving the money in the first place. If you need it for emergencies or are planning to spend it soon, leave it in the MM. If it is part of longer term savings for ER, get your butt back into a diversified portfolio and leave it alone. You are eventually going to have a bad drop and loose 20% or more - get yourself prepared for that and let it go. It comes back in the end.

Remember, people here lost hundreds of thousands on 2000-2002 and still ERd. Volatility is something you have to deal with if you want to invest.

 

[astromeria]

I used to take a bunch of money off the table after big run-ups and run-downs--and often sold the wrong things at the wrong time. Since I stopped that and started rebalancing instead, I get much better results.

 

[mathjak107]

i have to admit i did time it right once. it felt great getting out and watching the market tank. but the next couple of times i tried it again, bad move, and so i learned my lesson.

THE MARKETS CAN REMAIN IRRATIONAL ALOT LONGER THAN I CAN REMAIN SOLVENT

trying to time this stuff and actually coming out ahead over long periods of time is a loosing game.

as peter lynch once said in an interview:

so peter where do you see interest rates headed? dont know and dont care was his answer

well surly you must have a view on where stocks are headed,your one of the greatest managers in history,,,,, peters reply , dont know dont care.
if i could predict 3x in a row the correct movement of the markets id be a multi billionaire instead of just very rich.



if i

 

[Mr._johngalt]

well surly you must have a view on where stocks are headed,your one of the greatest managers in history,,,,, peters reply , dont know dont care.
if i could predict 3x in a row the correct movement of the markets id be a multi billionaire instead of just very rich.



if i

You left out his final words, "And don't call me surly!"

JG

 

[Spanky]

I know, I know that market timing does not work very well. Anyway, I dumped my REIT fund yesterday.

 

[astromeria]

I dumped my REIT fund yesterday.

One of two asset types I'd like to add to (the other being small-cap-value foreign)--let's make a deal!

 

[Spanky]

One of two asset types I'd like to add to (the other being small-cap-value foreign)--let's make a deal!

I am keeping the international small fund - not exactly a small value. Is there an international small value fund?

 

[astromeria]

Is there an international small value fund?

Most of them (the ones I'd like to invest in) are closed. There's the new DLS (WisdomTree International Small Cap Dividend). Anyone have others to recommend? DLS is too new to actually recommend.

 

[Nords]

Most of them (the ones I'd like to invest in) are closed. There's the new DLS (WisdomTree International Small Cap Dividend). Anyone have others to recommend? DLS is too new to actually recommend.

When I finish my 12-step program on owning individual stocks (11 steps to go...) I'll put my personal money in DLS. I like the DLS idea but I don't know much about WisdomTree. If PowerShares or some other major ETF player entered that arena I'd be moving more quickly.

 

[mickj]

I did end up getting back in a few days after the original post. I bought some different mutual funds....

DODGX
FISMX
FLVCX
PRRSX

Have done pretty well, need to just stop reading and looking at anything.. maybe I can live in a cave without electricity until I am ready to retire.

 

[unclemick]

Maybe some drugs (er I mean DRIP stocks) I'm destined to go to my grave with.

Still have one file cabinet of the pesky things approaching 'can't killem status'.

Perhaps I should volunteer for 'intervention' or treatment.

heh heh heh heh heh - OR mentally shift them back to hobby status.

 

[CCdaCE]

I did end up getting back in a few days after the original post. I bought some different mutual funds....

DODGX
FISMX
FLVCX
PRRSX

Have done pretty well, need to just stop reading and looking at anything.. maybe I can live in a cave without electricity until I am ready to retire.

Well, NOW you tell us!



-CC

 

[grumpy]

mickj,

With the DOW now looking like it will top 13,000, tell us when you got back in (see the original post in this thread). Perhaps this will be a valuable lesson for others who think they can time the market.

Grumpy

 

[al_bundy]

did the same thing as op last year
read some more technical analysis books last few months and called this rally right. will sell when market starts to flash sell signs again

 

[Milton]

I would say this is just the "heebie jeebies." As I said before I don't really know the reason I did it. I guess it was just a feeling I had while reading all of my usual news sources. I don't think it was wise but hopefully I won't regret the decision later.

You will almost certainly regret the decision. Over the long-term the markets have an upward bias (look at today's closing numbers). No guarantees, of course, but the odds favour staying fulling invested.

That said, I don't think that there's much point in second-guessing yourself. It's best to be able to balance fear and greed, but if you have difficulty doing that, always err on the side of fear. I would much rather that you regret leaving some money on the table, than staying in against your better judgment and perhaps losing a substantial portion of your savings (again, there are no guarantees).

I think that there is a lot to be said for investing in accordance with your personal comfort level. Small caps or futures etc. may have a higher potential return, but that does you no good if you are losing sleep and feeling under constant stress. I am reminded of the following (apocryphal?) email message from a "money manager" to a nervous client, quoted in Lee Eisenberg's The Number (page 143):

Here it is straight.
You are uncomfortable.
Sell everything. Then you will be
comfortable. Comfort is an important part of the client
relationship. This is meant from the heart.
To date I think we have achieved what you expected.
So maybe we just cash in.
You have heard from this camp.