My philosophy has always been – long hold index funds. I know many of you probably hold individual stocks but I wanted to share my thoughts to help some of you out. With the current situation you really only have two options: 1) Sell and realize a loss 2) Wait it out.
Option 1 will place you into a difficult situation when the market turns around, you could face a double loss scenario. When a market drops quickly, there's a high probability that recovery will move just as fast. If you miss the bottom, you will incur a double loss. Also, you will only realize that you have missed the bottom when it's already too late. Not to mention the headaches that you would have to deal with, having to constantly monitor the market situation and perhaps incorrectly timing the market.
If your stocks are decent (profitable large cap companies) or if you have invested in good ETFs and indices, selling at this point doesn't make sense. If you are someone who invests in these stocks, chances are that you're a long term investor and you don't care about short-term volatility. Isolating yourself from stock news and stock apps is probably the best strategy for both your portfolio and mental health.
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