Timing the market means purchasing securities at a low price and selling them at a high price. Although it may seem advantageous and lucrative, attempting to time the market involves potential dangers.
Although the concept of buying low and selling high is straightforward, it’s improbable that you can successfully time the market. You may end up purchasing items you anticipate will increase in value, but that may not happen. Consequently, you may have to sell them for a loss. This situation is prevalent, which is why you should refrain from attempting to time the market.
In most cases, it is advisable to avoid timing the market and opt for one of the several alternatives available. Based on your goals, one of these alternatives could be a better option.
The problem with timing the market
It is quite challenging to time the market and very few individuals can consistently do it. Even professionals who make an attempt to time the market typically do not succeed. For example, a Dow Jones report demonstrated that less than 10% of actively managed U.S. stock funds were able to outshine the index over a 20-year duration.
Market timing carries a high risk of financial loss. If you are forced to sell stocks or securities at a lower price than you bought them for, you will inevitably experience a loss.
Even investors who hold onto their investments for a long time can still lose money by trying to time the market. Charles Schwab conducted a study where they gave $2,000 to five different investors every year for 20 years and then compared how much money they had at the end of the time period.
- A hypothetical investor who always makes the right decisions in the stock market: $151,391
- An investor who invested their money immediately: $135,471
- The investor utilized the strategy of dollar-cost averaging: $134,856
- An investor who was unsuccessful in timing the market: $121,171
- The investor didn’t invest their money and kept it in cash: $44,438
The experiment showed that the investor with perfect market timing had the highest success rate. However, the investor who invested their money immediately came in second place without considering market timing. On the other hand, the investor with poor market timing had the second-lowest success rate.
Market timing is not a good investment strategy, as most investors who attempt to do it end up failing. This implies that after 20 years, your portfolio will likely resemble the second-worst outcome shown above. However, investing your money in a low-cost index fund right away is a better option, as you are more likely to be one of the best performers in the long run.
Alternatives to market timing
Even though timing the market may seem appealing, it is not a sustainable strategy in the long run for most investors. Luckily, there are several alternatives that can yield better outcomes.
Diversified portfolio
To diversify your portfolio, you should invest in various assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. This method provides multiple benefits, such as reducing your risk by spreading it across different assets.
Diversifying your portfolio by investing in different types of assets can help protect you against market volatility. It provides exposure to different markets that may not be correlated with each other. This strategy can improve your overall results and reduce your long-term risk compared to investing in just one type of asset.
Dollar-cost averaging
As previously demonstrated, dollar-cost averaging may not yield the most optimal outcomes over time. Nonetheless, investing all of your capital at once can be intimidating, as it can seem like surrendering control of your portfolio. This can make some investors uneasy.
To avoid investing all your money at once when the market is at its highest point of the year, dollar-cost averaging is used. This strategy involves investing periodically, like once per month. By investing over a longer period, you will have the opportunity to experience different market situations, which can lead to better results overall. Although it may not always outperform immediate investing, it is still a preferable option to attempt to time the market in most instances.
Long-term investing
To help your portfolio grow, it’s crucial to invest for the long term. You can grasp the significance of this by examining the S&P 500 chart, which depicts the stock market’s highs and lows over the past 70 years. The S&P 500 is a widely used benchmark index for the overall market. When people inquire about “how the market did today,” they’re usually inquiring about the S&P 500.
Bottom line
In personal finance communities, people often say that “time in the market beats timing the market.” This means that trying to predict market trends and buy or sell investments accordingly is not a sustainable strategy for most investors in the long run. Instead, it’s best for most people to invest in a diverse range of assets and hold them for the long term. It’s also a good idea to seek advice from a financial advisor to help create a portfolio that’s right for you.