Your money, your decision, but... This is what you laid out.
For ease of discussion, let's say you had $100,000 in the Stock Market last November, as all-time highs were hit. You feel (correctly) that it is over-valued. Your discipline says sell 5%.. Great, now you have $95,000.
Today, 5 months later, your $95,000 is worth about $74,000, if your portfolio is reasonably allocated. You have the $5,000 ready to deploy.
Was a value drop of $21,000 worth saving (deferring, really) 23.8% in taxes? You would still have $16,000 more than you do now, and you would have $16,000 + the $5,000 you presumably sold in November, to deploy now, at much lower prices. So you can't exactly time when to get back in? You don't have to. If you knew a Bear Market was coming (it has, and I did), why stick to your discipline and lose value? I'm down the past 5 months, but only 4%. I would kick myself if I allowed my holdings to drop over 20% (as the averages have, since late November).
Originally Posted by Chung Tran
Perhaps I failed to make my point in a sufficiently clear fashion, so I'll try to do so now.
First, consider this: If you can't maintain your cool during the occasional 20% (or more) selloff, perhaps investing just isn't for you. Charlie Munger famously said that if you wish to be a successful long-term investor, you have to steel yourself for the possibility that there's going to be a vicious bear market every now and then, and possibly featuring selloffs of 30% or even more.
My key point was that I like to always be realizing cash from my portfolios, especially when the markets are richly valued. In the case of many (non-dividend-paying) tech stocks, I trim about 5% a year over time from almost every position, in cases where I've realized significant gains. (I look at it as a de facto way of continually receiving dividend income).
This way, you have more chips to deploy after a bear market selloff offers you wonderful buying opportunities, as in 1974-1975, 1982-1983, 2002-2003, and 2009-2010. Be ready to jump in with both feet if a plunge of remotely similar magnitude occurs again. But don't think you can do well if you continually exit and reenter the market on a whim.
Have you ever seen Peter Lynch do that? Warren Buffett? (No, you have not!)
Although it looks like there are some rough seas ahead, there's no certainty a plunge remotely similar to those of the past will occur, although there are considerable risks.
For instance, there's a chance the Fed could panic and reverse course once again. (It's happened before!)
What if congressional leaders unhappy about a tanking S&P 500 haul the Fed chair in front of a committee and ask what the hell they're going to do about a 25% market plunge? What if markets suddenly get a shot of excitement over an anticipated swift pivot from QT back to QE as well as a policy rate reversal, as in 2019?
Markets can climb the proverbial "wall of worry" for a far longer period than some think. No one has any idea whether a bear market will begin soon, although on a sufficiently long timeline, you can expect that one will occur. Be ready.
In the meantime, a very important (but oft-forgotten) phrase should be kept in mind.
"I don't know!"
https://compoundadvisors.com/2022/i-dont-know
This is why in my view it's advisable to stay the course, but to be ready to seize attractive opportunities when they become available.
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