Investment plan with a long-term goal is a life raft in rough times
The deck is stacked against individual investors and professional fund managers who try to consistently beat broad market indices through timing highs and lows
As investors we’re constantly told not to bother trying to time the market. Study after study shows the deck is stacked against individual investors and even professional fund managers who try to consistently beat broad market indices. As no-one can predict the ups and downs of the markets accurately, the best bet is to invest and stay invested with a plan for a long-term outcome. This doesn’t mean simply doing nothing over many decades, but rather to have an investment plan that will act as a guide through tough times. It was Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, who said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” The same can be said of investing in the stock market. You’ll never really know if you’re made for it until you have survived a market correction or crash. Knowing this, the time to plan for that inevitable eventuality is not when the market is falling but before these events occur, so you aren’t surprised when it does happen. A plan f...
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