Best day and time to sell and buy index funds?

[Jimonlimon]

Summary: What's the safest way to time sales of one group of stock funds and purchase of another when the money will be in limbo for 2 days?

My 401k account is with Nationwide, but I can use Schwab within the account. Schwab has way more investment options. I have started moving some of my 401k assets over.

• Nationwide funds sell after close of business day. I can cancel a sale request up until the NYSE close at 4:00 eastern. It seems to take two days for the funds to be available for purchase at Schwab.
  
• Schwab buy orders execute immediately for their ETF's, including pre-and post-market trading hours. I'm putting money into SCHB (US Broad Market ETF) and SCHX (US Large Cap ETF).

I'm trying to sort out a best strategy to avoid losing value if the market shoots up between when my Nationwide funds sell and the Schwab purchase is completed.

My plan is to spread this over about 10 purchases. I already did the first 2. I do have other funds that I could use to "advance" the Schwab purchases so I could buy at the same time I sell which should reduce the risk.

• Maybe do both buy and sell on Wednesdays when hopefully the market is calm?
• Others have suggested selling at close of business on Friday and buying at around 9:30 Monday because there is often a bit of Friday afternoon optimism and Monday morning pessimism. I realize if that were true the billionaires would be taking all those profits for themselves.

Ideas or suggestions?

 

[Al18]

I would stay 2 weeks away from a dividend or capital gains payout - these dates are announced months in advance.

I don’t place buy or sell when the market is closed.

Anything else can’t be predicted unless you have a working crystal ball.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Are you holding any bond funds or cash in the Schwab part?

Since they are less volatile, you can use that characteristic:

*On day X, sell bond funds in Schwab, and buy stock ETFs there. On the same day, sell stock funds in Nationwide.

*On day X+2, you get cash in Schwab. Repurchase the bond funds you sold 2 days earlier.

(Maybe this is what you meant by "advancing" the Schwab purchase?)

 

[OldShooter]

The advice I take to heart: Taylor Larimore's market timing quotes https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Taylor_Larimore's_market_timing_quotes

 

[disneysteve]

I'm trying to sort out a best strategy to avoid losing value if the market shoots up between when my Nationwide funds sell and the Schwab purchase is completed.

My plan is to spread this over about 10 purchases.

That's exactly the best plan: spread it out over multiple purchases. It's analogous to dollar cost averaging. With some of those 10 purchases, the market may rise between transactions. With some of those 10 purchases the market may fall between transactions. In the end, it will likely be a wash or close to it.


Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.

 

[Jimonlimon]

Are you holding any bond funds or cash in the Schwab part?
...

(Maybe this is what you meant by "advancing" the Schwab purchase?)

Yes, I have some SWVXX that I can use to fund the purchase so I buy Schwab funds at the same time I sell Nationwide.

 

[Jimonlimon]

The advice I take to heart: Taylor Larimore's market timing quotes https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Taylor_Larimore's_market_timing_quotes

Thanks. Like I said if it was easy the billionaires would have made it hard for us paupers anyhow. I'll try to sell the one group of funds and buy the other at nearly the same time- probably close of business on Wednesdays.