Did I do the wrong thing ? pls help

Newbie · #1 10-08-2009, 03:49 PM

Hi everyone,
I am an anxious newbie here. I panicked last Friday when the TSX went way down and I sold all my equities. Now, I feel foolish that I pulled out far too soon, seeing how the market is going way up this week and continuing upwards today.

Thing is, I got spooked reading all the articles out there, that the market is overbought, the fundamentals are not there to support these prices, that there will be a correction, possibly 20% or as
bad as the March lows etc. So first 2 days of October, I panicked
and sold at a loss, thinking I should just salvage what I've got and minimize my losses. I've been just a buy and hold type for decades, lost 40% of my life savings since the crash and am only trying to read and learn in the past few weeks.

I have a lot to learn yet. In the meantime, would anyone please tell
me if I have made a mega mistake here pulling out last week - I feel
stupid missing out on all the gains I could have made this week, and may be more to come in the next months or so.

What is your sense of things to come ? Do you think there will be a large correction still ? should I get back in at the next dip or just stay on the sidelines until next year when the market direction might be more clear then ?

Please help. I feel quite bad this whole week and very lost. Your comments will be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Anxious newbie

trent · #2 10-08-2009, 04:07 PM

Nobody can tell you if you made a mistake or not, all you can get here or anywhere else are opinions, and only the future will tell if you have been right or wrong. TSX is very resource heavy, however you didn't mention what types of equities you sold?

Having said that I expect a severe market correction anytime now and I've sold some of my positions anticipating that. I'll be buying them back if the market corrects more than 20%, if not at least I sold for a decent profit.

Newbie · #3 10-08-2009, 05:16 PM

Thank you, I really appreciate your reply. I know no one can tell me, I guess I was just looking for opinions here. Its just hard when you have sold & lost 40% to see the gains this week...

Rickson9 · #4 10-08-2009, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie

I have a lot to learn yet. In the meantime, would anyone please tell me if I have made a mega mistake here pulling out last week

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie

What is your sense of things to come ? Do you think there will be a large correction still ? should I get back in at the next dip or just stay on the sidelines until next year when the market direction might be more clear then?

Nobody knows and it doesn't matter because nobody can tell you so it is a waste of time to think about it.

Market direction will never be clear.

"Success in investing doesn't correlate with I.Q. once you're above the level of 25. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing." - Warren Buffett