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Monday, December 1, 2008 12:00 AM

I bought stocks; my husband bought CDs. Now I can't bear to look

I can't get up the nerve to tell my husband just how much money we've lost.

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  • Monday, December 1, 2008 03:10 PM

    @cestmoi123

    You may be special. You may be lucky. But your advice to time the market is like the powerball winner telling everybody that buying lottery tickets is a great investment strategy. Statistically, market timing is a sucker's bet (as is individual stock picking by individual investors).

    True enough if you're talking about short-term timing. But that's different than looking at a macroeconomic conditions and making an educated decision that the s$#t is about to hit the fan.

    Individual investors CAN and SHOULD engage in long-term "timing", otherwise known as asset allocation.

    Individual investors who need their money within 5-10 years should CLOSELY monitor the markets and adjust as needed. Again, not day-trading but asset allocation.

    Even long-term (10+ year) investors should be smart and re-evaluate yearly to make sure they don't get burned by changing market conditions.

    Don't confuse stock-picking with asset allocation.

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