It is the time to start and invest in the markets?

[isralexba]

Hi,
after the recent 4 weeks fall (the last 2 days did correct some of the damage...) who still thinks it is now the time to enter the market will full strength?

[mcfroggin]

With a 3 day break, I think Tuesday will be a day to watch. I'm not quite sure the correction is over.

[moneyclass]

i think we all want the market to start going up. but theres still some stocks that are doing good just have to find them. im not buying much now but doing alot of watching and waiting.

[KTP]

Europe is about to default, US housing market is still in terrible shape, Linkedin IPO put it at 500+ PE ratio...

Sure, I think it is just a perfect time to go all in. Party like it is 1999.

[disneysteve]

who still thinks it is now the time to enter the market will full strength?

I think it is always the time to be in the market with a systematic investment plan, dollar cost averaging each month into a diversified portfolio that you rebalance periodically. Don't let short term issues influence long term investing decisions. The money that we're putting into the market is for retirement 20 and 25 and 35 years from now. I don't really care if it goes up or down tomorrow or next week or next month.

[isralexba]

I think it is always the time to be in the market with a systematic investment plan, dollar cost averaging each month into a diversified portfolio that you rebalance periodically. Don't let short term issues influence long term investing decisions. The money that we're putting into the market is for retirement 20 and 25 and 35 years from now. I don't really care if it goes up or down tomorrow or next week or next month.

I actually agree with you, even though investing in a red market is one of (my) hardest things to do .... However, the economic situation, poor real estate market condition in the US and the ending of QE2 in the coming month are not good symptoms ....
I have actually sold out most of my stocks in March and since then returned only 2/3 of them into the market (mainly ETFs), and i am now checking the historical P/E ratios and other economic factors ....
I always prefer to invest in inflaction protected bonds with YTM of 6-10% but they are quite hard to find (at least in economically stable companies)

[kork13]

I think it is always the time to be in the market with a systematic investment plan, dollar cost averaging each month into a diversified portfolio that you rebalance periodically. Don't let short term issues influence long term investing decisions. The money that we're putting into the market is for retirement 20 and 25 and 35 years from now. I don't really care if it goes up or down tomorrow or next week or next month.

What he said.

The best time to start investing is right now, as soon as possible, as consistently as possible, for as long as possible. The random swings between days, weeks, or even a few months will have very little impact on your overall performance over the course of 20-30 (or more) years. Start investing today, and you'll thank yourself for years to come.

[SteveBlissLaw]

IDK.....I'm holding off for a little while still. I just don't fully trust that things are back to normal

[disneysteve]

IDK.....I'm holding off for a little while still. I just don't fully trust that things are back to normal

Not to pick on you personally but the problem with this mindset is that people tend to get out of stocks at the worst possible time, after the market has plummeted and then not get back in until prices are back up to lofty levels and things look rosy. That is the exact opposite of what you want to do - buy low and sell high.

Stop paying attention to the daily gyrations of the market. Turn off CNBC and Cramer and all of the other talking heads. Set your investments on autopilot so that a set amount of money goes in each and every month from now until retirement.

[Scanner]

While I always look to find a contrarian viewpoint, I have to fully agree with DisneySteve on this one.

I would not go in "full strength". . .I would get in any market (stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate) slow and steady that if it drops, you are getting good deals as stocks drop and if it goes up, great.

If you have some money to drop, I'd either go with the standard 100 - age mix right off the get go with stocks/bonds or if you want to invest 100% stocks, then I'd buy in slow, like maybe 10% of your cash over the next 20 weeks. (like if you had $20,000. . .buy $2000 every 2 weeks of a total market index).

Then, you can always fiddle/faddle with your portfolio when you are in.

[dczech09]

Anytime is a good time to enter the market. You're simply thinking too hard if you're worried about when to enter the market and when to leave. Do yourself a favor and stop thinking; act! Systematically throw some money into the market, even something as little as $50 a month to start.

"When" to get into the market is far less important than "being" in the market.

[mcfroggin]

Anytime is a good time to enter the market. You're simply thinking too hard if you're worried about when to enter the market and when to leave. Do yourself a favor and stop thinking; act! Systematically throw some money into the market, even something as little as $50 a month to start.

"When" to get into the market is far less important than "being" in the market.

While I agree that any time is a good time, the type of investments you make are different. If the market is too high in one area, you may want to be shorting stocks vs purchasing them outright. Do not systematically throw money into the market blindly. Research, analyze, and make decisions based on your knowledge.

[disneysteve]

If the market is too high in one area, you may want to be shorting stocks vs purchasing them outright.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a crystal ball that told us when a stock had peaked and was going to fall so that we could short it? Since that doesn't exist, stay away from attempts at market timing. Invest regularly and consistently over time in a diversified portfolio and rebalance periodically. In essence, that accomplishes the same thing because it allows you to lock in gains by selling shares that have shot up in price and redeploy the money into underperforming areas which are selling at a discount, but it removes the emotion and guessing from the equation.

[mcfroggin]

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a crystal ball that told us when a stock had peaked and was going to fall so that we could short it? Since that doesn't exist, stay away from attempts at market timing. Invest regularly and consistently over time in a diversified portfolio and rebalance periodically. In essence, that accomplishes the same thing because it allows you to lock in gains by selling shares that have shot up in price and redeploy the money into underperforming areas which are selling at a discount, but it removes the emotion and guessing from the equation.

By your own definition, you are also using a crystal ball. How do you know underperforming areas are at a discount? Maybe underperforming areas are just poor areas to invest period. You time the market just like anyone else - you just choose a random day to do it on. It does not remove guessing from the equation at all - you just guess randomly.

There is no perfect way to invest. If there was, everyone would be doing it and becoming millionaires.

I'm merely stating that there is ALWAYS a way to be making money regardless of the market rising or falling. Sure it takes some research, foresight, luck, risk, and knowledge of the market. I don't dispute that.

Every investment possibility has potential to produce gains. Some have more or less risk than others. It is for each individual to assess one's own risk tolerance and knowledge of the investment strategy.

[humandraydel]

Personally, I hope the market goes down again so some of you will sell me your stocks for cheap!