Articles: Market Timing

Here are some Market Timing strategy articles that we have written.



The Myths And Realities Of Market Timing
User Rating: / 25
June 29, 2005

Market timing is one of the least understood concepts involved in investing money. It’s time we identify and debunk some of the myths about market timing. These myths seem to take on a life of their own through repetition. But anybody interested in market timing deserves to know the truth, and this seems like the perfect time for a refresher course.

All about market timing
User Rating: / 35
April 20, 2001
This quote from Hugh Johnson is more accurate than many advisors want the public to know: "The most intelligent way to begin managing money is to confess you don't have a clue where the markets are going."  The stock and bond markets are affected by so many influences, and those influences change direction and importance so frequently, that short-term predictions are not much more than guesses.

Market Timing: The Rest of the Story
User Rating: / 20
June 29, 2005

Conventional wisdom says trying to time the stock market is a fool’s game. And if you look at market timing very narrowly, defining it as a discipline that nobody really practices, then the conventional wisdom is right.

Do you have what it takes to be a successful market timer?
User Rating: / 17
June 29, 1997
EDITOR'S NOTE:  This article was first published in 1994 in Paul Merriman's "Fund Exchange" newsletter, the predecessor to FundAdvice.com. We have kept it on this site all this time because its message is just as timely now as it was then.


Market timing works, and it works well for people who actually practice it as a discipline. In theory, every investor is capable of following the disciplines of timing. But not everybody has the right emotional makeup to do timing right. In real life, most people who try are ultimately unsuccessful. Timing puts investors on the front lines, face to face with the realities of the market, every business day. To be a successful timer, you’ve got to buy and sell without flinching even when you don’t feel like it. You’ve got to follow your discipline even when you’re sure it’s a mistake. You’ve got to do it even when you don’t understand why your timing system is telling you to act. Nike had it right: "Just do it." But it’s so much easier to say than do!

A Former Market-Timer Speaks Out
User Rating: / 14
July 07, 2005

I think the most interesting part of the investment industry is the psychology involved, and I’m always looking for new ways to communicate about this. Investors who follow market-timing disciplines know how difficult it is to overcome the psychological hurdles. It’s especially challenging to ignore the media's constant advice to pursue short-term results and trends, while the media advocates long-term investing. You can rarely pick up a financial magazine these days without reading cover headlines promising to tell you which mutual funds or stocks you should be buying RIGHT NOW.

Is Market Timing Investing Or Speculating?
User Rating: / 6
July 07, 2005

One thing I have noticed repeatedly over the years about successful investors is that they have a clear sense of their goals and how they are going to reach those goals. But investors who are confused about what they are doing experience stress, uncertainty and emotional strains that sometimes lead them into decisions that are, at best, unproductive-and often disastrous.