WS: Whether one waits to invest or one invests now: I think this depends on the proclivity and style that each investor uses. If an investor only buys a few stocks (has a concentrated portfolio), and the investor mostly plunks down money and waits, or takes an initial position and then averages up,... my opinion is that this is not the time to buy.
However, if one lags into positions (averages down), and/or if one diversifies among a wide variety of companies and industries (as Dr. Graham suggests -g-), then this is the time to buy. From what I read, most people now believe we are in a 'legitimate' correction if not bear market for small cap and/or value stocks. Value investors should be patiently accumulating these depressed issues now - this is what I think Dr. Graham says. That's my opinion.
Regarding l987: IMO, it wasn't at all about having discipline to wait for the best price, wait and jump in at gap down to pick up screaming bargains. Everything (everything I owned and looked at anyway -g-) went down and went down fast. No, the discipline was would you buy at all (have the guts and money to commit -g-), and did you have the discipline (patience) to wait the several months (or better, the years) to see those great profits? The buy price was IMO, basically irrelevant to the gains that could be got by just establishing or even holding on to, one's positions. That's my experience.
Paul Senior |
