Ignore the siren calls — stick to your investment plan
Long-term investors know they will face times when markets are down and they should prepare
Tie yourself to the mast: the market sirens are singing, hoping to lure you away from your investment voyage, investment specialists say. At Morningstar's recent annual conference, Dan Kemp, the data provider and investment manager's chief investment officer for Europe, said the headlines we read or listen to about market performance are like the luring songs of heavenly winged sirens intent on tempting Odysseus to abandon his voyage in Homer's epic Greek poem The Odyssey. Headlines like "JSE nears worst month performance in 10 years" and "World stocks head for worst losing streak in more than five years" are enough to unnerve even experienced investors. But Kemp says long-term investors know they will face times when markets are down and they should prepare, like Odysseus. Odysseus put wax in his crews' ears so they could not listen to the songs as they navigated past the island where the sirens lived. But, wanting to hear their song himself, Odysseus had his crew tie him to the ma...
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