Financials Matter

"It's Not Just About Finance"

A poster advertising 'Reefer Madness', an anti-drugs exploitation film, dealing with the pitfalls of marijuana smoking, directed by Louis J. Gasnier, 1936. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Is Time Your Enemy or Friend?

 

On Wall Street, time can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Example:  A well designed portfolio will stand the test of time as opposed to randomly buying stocks because you “Have a Feeling” they’ll do well.

A classic example is what happened to investors who owned high-quality, blue chip stocks during the 1987 crash.  Those who didn’t panic and sell regained their losses in just over one year.

Time worked in their favor.

However, certain “blue-chip” household names (Cough! General Electric, Cough! General Motors, Cough! Cough!) have caused tremendous damage to investors who’ve maintained the “Buy and Hold” strategy.

(GM went bankrupt and GE is currently worth ten cents on the dollar compared to its high of $64 in 2000.)

Time worked against them.

What made the difference between losing all – or 90% of your money – on GM or GE and the quality stocks that recovered?

Time was the friend of one and the enemy of the other.

How is that possible?

The answer is simple, yet profound.

You see, time is neutral and it’s also a resource.  It will respond to whatever you give it.

The secret is in knowing when it’s time to stay in the game or cut bait and run.

When asked what the secret to accumulating wealth was, legendary investor Bernard Baruch said:  “I made my money by selling too soon.”

In other words, he wasn’t greedy.

Has this ever happened to you:  You buy a stock and it quickly goes up 40 or 50% and you end up selling it for a loss?

Don’t feel bad.  We’ve all been there.

Learn how to make time your friend by reading our Short and Sweet Tips column in our monthly newsletter.

We make it simple and easy to understand.

See for yourself (HERE).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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