Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The New Economy and its Winners -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Rose who wrote (2162)	10/11/2000 4:30:14 PM
From: Wizard	Respond to of 57684

I don't like averaging down much. I do average into a position until its a full position but I try to be very patient on stocks that drop below my original cost. A little 'time diversification' is a good thing for many emerging growth stocks. >>the stock market as a zero-sum game no, its not a zero-sum game but its not a 30%+ annual game either. therefore, in order to get a solid %, you better be disproportionately IN the right companies. it's well known that <10% of technology companies end up capturing 80-90% of the available market value. that means that its less than a zero sum game for 90% of the companies. its a brutal sector and if you aren't in the top 2 or 3 in a good industry, you are likely just biding your time until your stock sinks to a fraction of its present worth. >>Clearly, we are far from a bottom which puts the LT bull status of the market in jeopardy. I just don't think about it like that. This LT bull market has NOT been good to lots of companies - BMC Software and Network Associates are both below where they were in October of 1996. Meanwhile, stockholders of BEA systems and Juniper aren't too concerned about today's market. If you buy and hold index funds, then worrying about the market makes sense. Otherwise, its just not worth it. >>Sounds like you are surviving all this with your psyche still intact. The fundamental environment is very good in some areas and very bad in others. My psyche is as volatile as anyone's but I am well diversified into a list of companies that I believe in and I think market timing is a poor use of time and effort. The stocks I am involved with generally have open-ended opportunities and they are also very risky. Open ended means a stock can go up by many fold and risky means it might be worth nothing in a few years. If you don't set up a strategy such that you can get the huge winner, its not all that easy to make a lot of money in tech stocks.