How far do you let your stocks drop?

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Mine were up $13,000 now in the last week they've dropped about $8,000. Kind of annoying going up and down all the time and never really go anywhere. I think my stock broker is an idiot honestly. I let him do his thing and it looks like he bought a bunch of ETF's when they were all at the highest point. I prefer to buy low and wait until they go up again.
 
I don't watch them, it will make you crazy. The best returns are made in the long term. All you need to do is start young with a more aggressive (riskier) mix in your portfolio, then gradually move to less risky, more conservative stocks as you approach retirement age. That method almost always beats the "active" investor in the end.
 
I'm in the mid-20s, so I don't touch them. Over the long haul they will be positive.

If you're talking about stock in an individual company or index and you're not looking for an immediate cash out, I wouldn't touch them. It's inevitable that we'll see a dip, we've had a strong market for a while, a correction is coming. The question isn't if, it's when. What happens after a correction though? The rebound.

If however you are looking for some day trades or short term investment, there is no magic answer. Sometimes you have to take a loss that you feel comfortable taking because it's better than losing even more. This point is different for everyone. My approach to individual stocks is simple, if I'm putting money into a stock, I'm ok losing that money. In my mind, when I put money into a stock I'm placing it out of reach so I effectively don't own that money anymore.
 
I don't watch them. They go up and down. I have my 401k contribution split between Vanguard index and T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth (TCBIX), and I just leave it alone.
 
Index mutual funds.

No one can time the stock market. Or predict.

You pick the perfect stock and the CEO is accused of sexual misconduct or insider trading and the stock looses a lot of value. Or tariffs are announced that hurts the industry.
 
Originally Posted by Oily_Thing
Buy 'em when they are low.
Sell 'em when they are high.

Most people buy high then sell them when they drop.
 
Originally Posted by dadto2
I don't watch them, it will make you crazy. The best returns are made in the long term. All you need to do is start young with a more aggressive (riskier) mix in your portfolio, then gradually move to less risky, more conservative stocks as you approach retirement age. That method almost always beats the "active" investor in the end.


Excellent advice . I have seen the stock market crash 2 - 3 times and drop almost by half . When that happens , only thing to do is set tight and wait .

For a young person , time is on your side .
 
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Originally Posted by RamFan
I'm in the mid-20s, so I don't touch them. Over the long haul they will be positive.....


Timing plays a role here. The decline of the 1929-1933 stock market took 25 yrs to recover. Not so good for those retiring in that window.

The correction of 1966-1982 (16 yrs) wasn't of much help for those retiring in that window either. 1900-1925 was basically flat as well (25 yrs).

When the current 85-100 yr stock market rally that began in 1933 finally times out....the next correction will probably dwarf anything seen by most people still alive.

Dow 120 yr history
 
Originally Posted by 69GTX
Originally Posted by RamFan
I'm in the mid-20s, so I don't touch them. Over the long haul they will be positive.....


Timing plays a role here. The decline of the 1929-1933 stock market took 25 yrs to recover. Not so good for those retiring in that window.

The correction of 1966-1982 (16 yrs) wasn't of much help for those retiring in that window either. 1900-1925 was basically flat as well (25 yrs).

When the current 85-100 yr stock market rally that began in 1933 finally times out....the next correction will probably dwarf anything seen by most people still alive.

Dow 120 yr history




If your retirement window is coming up in 5 years (or even 10) you should start to slowly move money out of the stock market into less risky investments.
 
Originally Posted by dadto2
I don't watch them, it will make you crazy. The best returns are made in the long term. All you need to do is start young with a more aggressive (riskier) mix in your portfolio, then gradually move to less risky, more conservative stocks as you approach retirement age. That method almost always beats the "active" investor in the end.

^ This! I meet with my advisor once or twice a year. I've been retired for 18 months and rarely even think about my investments. He advised us to go more conservative a few years before I retired. He has made me quite a bit of money over the years, which is what I pay him to do. I don't begrudge any fee I have paid him. He knows a lot more about the market than I do!
 
I ignored the people who told me about index funds 30 years ago. I thought they were dumb. I thought I was smart. At 60 years of age I now realize I was dumb and they were smart. You don't have to make the same mistakes I did.

For the last 20 years I have relied on index funds for the majority of my retirement investments. My one risk is QQQ. Vanguard is a great place to keep everything. I needed to keep things simple in case I die before my wife does.

Another big mistake I learned was trying to time the market. IF you sell too late, you feel bad. IF you sell too soon, you feel bad. How many nights did I toss and turn? How much of my life did I waste?

Greed is a terrible sin.

My children learned. Their 401(k)'s are all in index funds.
 
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Originally Posted by motor_oil_madman
Mine were up $13,000 now in the last week they've dropped about $8,000. Kind of annoying going up and down all the time and never really go anywhere. I think my stock broker is an idiot honestly. I let him do his thing and it looks like he bought a bunch of ETF's when they were all at the highest point. I prefer to buy low and wait until they go up again.


Which ETFs do you have ?
Why not manage your OWN $$$ that you worked very hard for ?
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Originally Posted by dadto2
I don't watch them, it will make you crazy. The best returns are made in the long term. All you need to do is start young with a more aggressive (riskier) mix in your portfolio, then gradually move to less risky, more conservative stocks as you approach retirement age. That method almost always beats the "active" investor in the end.


Excellent advice . I have seen the stock market crash 2 - 3 times and drop almost by half . When that happens , only thing to do is set tight and wait .


And buy extra if you have some cash.
 
Originally Posted by gman2304
. He advised us to go more conservative a few years before I retired.



I'm curious. How are you going conservative? I'm serious. I'd like to know what you're in.

Bonds are getting crushed. Gold is at multiyear lows and going down. Where do you hide?

If this is a replay of the spring, we had some some 400 point down days then panic set in and we had a streak of 1500+ point down days.
 
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I made most of my money with Vanguard index funds and combined them and some T Rowe Price in a Schwab account when I retired so that my kids would a single place to look when I dropped off this mortal coil. IMO you can't really beat cheap index funds and ETF's from the likes of Schwab, Vanguard and Fidelity (totally free--they want you as a customer, I guess. ) There is a local rep at the Schwab office but he's never tried to sell me anything. He is there if I have a question (recently bought a CD) and he explained that it went down because it trades like a bond. I had the market crash ten years ago a couple of years before I retired and it can be scary. Rode it back up 'cause I didn't panic. Only recently increased my cash holdings for the first time because tariffs scare me no end.

Thing I wish I'd known: They always told me to defer everything into a 457/IRA because I'd be paying less taxes in retirement (this was before Roth's)-- Well guess what? With Required Minimum Distributions (I'm widowed and trying to shove additional funds above the minimum into my Roth) I now pay three times as much income taxes as when I was working. No one told me that-- they all said my taxes would go down--HAH!

My other advice-- think index funds and ETF's. Don't pay more than twenty basis points for management of anything, and if your broker tries to sell you a stock or managed fund, ask why? Think of that weasel guy in the Schwab ad. They are out there.
 
I have $4.95 in my Acorns app, a t Rowe Price 401k, and some O'Reilly stock I might sell because I need the cash. I'm pretty bad are investing I guess!
 
Originally Posted by turtlevette
Originally Posted by gman2304
. He advised us to go more conservative a few years before I retired.



I'm curious. How are you going conservative? I'm serious. I'd like to know what you're in.

Bonds are getting crushed. Gold is at multiyear lows and going down. Where do you hide?

If this is a replay of the spring, we had some some 400 point down days then panic set in and we had a streak of 1500+ point down days.

Good point about bonds! Although they're less likely to blow completely up than a stock fund, you can lose a lot with them. I actually have more money in cash-- CD's, money market funds.--then I've ever had. But then, I'm old and have a pension. If you're young, I still believe that simple stock funds and etf's with low costs are the way to go.
 
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