+1 my oil stock is up 90% the last 5 days but not needs a long way to go before back to even or even a profit
I actually just broke even a couple hours ago. I haven't put in a lot but over the last few weeks it went down tremendously and I lost big time. But the last few days...
See: Ray Dalio On How You Can Win in the Market
http://www.bloomberg.com/api/embed/iframe?id=oyYJueClRfWg_bBgF6nYdA which is summarized here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-03/ray-dalio-tells-ordinary-investors-dont-trade-against-pros-us-you-will-lose-own-goldAnd להבדיל see:
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/821810/jewish/On-Investing-in-Stocks.htm where the following quote appears: "It is particularly objectionable
because of the anxiety and nervous strain that it creates in some people. Moreover, in these unsettled days, there is too great an element of speculation involved in the Stock Exchange. It is surely possible to find some more fitting investment opportunities, if an investment is contemplated, than the kind of thing which sends the investor scurrying for the first edition of the Stock Exchange report in the morning newspaper."
And
http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=625If the
pros are saying one could expect 4% return in stocks, and that with volatility and risk (i.e. the time you might need or want your money, might just be the time it is down), I don't think there is sufficient risk premium to assets that can return 2%-3%, or possibly even 4% with no downside risk (the recent ChasunaFund from Allstate was an anomaly where one was able to GUARANTEE returns in excess of 4% - a total no-brainer to me, thankfully was able to get in).
There are only two ways I see one putting money into stocks right now:
- Small amounts of money just for the thrill, similar to playing in a casino, to the extent that you are aware that this is what you are doing, and can expect to lose everything
- A pro doing this full time
The time to get into stocks/"the market" will come, when stocks are really hated and P/Es are below 10, until then, the focus should be preservation of capital, and if you can get modest risk free returns, all the better.