| Why Smart Money Remains Fully Invested |
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by Tom Teckmeyer
Staying Focused, Staying Invested Many investors like to wait for just the right time to get into the stock market and just the right time to pull their investments out. It that sounds like you, there's something you should know. While you are on the sidelines as a spectator and not a participant, some of the market's best single-day performances may slip right past you. Are you so confident in your timing strategy that you are willing to forfeit those gains? Missing even a few of them could cost you plenty. Remember it is time, not timing, that makes you a successful investor. Missing the 20 Best Days Could Cut Your Return in Half Hypothetically speaking, if you had invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 Index on September 30, 1993, by September 30, 1998, your $10,000 would have grown to $24,785 (an average annual total return of 19.91%). Suppose now that during that five-year period, there were times when you decide to get out of the market, and as a result, missed out on the market's 10 best single-day performances. By missing those 10 best days, your 19.91% return would have decreased by more than 37% to 12.12%. Even more astounding, had you missed the 20 best days, that 19.91% return would have dropped all the way to 7.69%. As always, keep in mind that past performance does not guarantee comparable future results. Smart Investors Don't Play the Timing Game The more you try to time the market, the greater your chances become of missing the market's biggest single gains and as we have seen impacting your results dramatically. That's why smart investors don't play the timing game. They don't let the markets short-term fluctuations sideline them or dictate their investment objectives. They are patient investors, focused on the long-term and on their long-term goals. Our investment philosophy has always followed this course because it is rooted in biblical truth. Get rich quick schemes, greed, and impure motives are not things that God honors. His Word does tell us in Proverbs 13:11 that "Dishonest money will dwindle, but money gathered little by little will surely grow." Teckmeyer Financial Services is a full service investment firm based in Omaha, Nebraska. It is our desire to follow biblical principles in helping people be faithful stewards of whatever financial resources God has entrusted to them. If we can be of any help to you or simply pray for you, please contact us at (402) 331-8600, toll-free at 1-800-905-PLAN, or visit our website at www.teckmeyerfinancial.com. |
