Which is harder?

[Lordosis]

Is it harder to stay the course and ignore the noise when the market is crashing like it was last spring or when it is booming like it has been since?

[CordMcNally]

[TXDoc21]

When losing money in a crash in the spring it was harder to lose money I already had in my account. When on the way up I never have had an impulse that I need to borrow money to keep going for more profits. That is just me. That may change in the future, but more emotion losing money than making it for me.

[Kamban]

Neither is hard if you take the view that "this too shall pass".

[Tim]

I have yet to see anyone have anxiety to rebalance with anything but new money when the market is booming.
Bonds to stock is in hopes of a recovery, stocks to bonds is really really tough to maintain the discipline.

[Lordosis]

The laugh I got from the Michael Scott meme made this thread worth it.

[ENT Doc]

Neither is hard if you take the view that "this too shall pass".

[wideopenspaces]

I have no feelings when the market drops but when it booms and I hear about people taking 500k and turning it into 2M over 12 months I *kinda* wish I could take riskier moves. But I know myself and I wouldn't sleep so would never work. So I would say for me it's harder in a boom . . . But only in a theoretical way. I would never act on it.

[Lordosis]

I have no feelings when the market drops but when it booms and I hear about people taking 500k and turning it into 2M over 12 months I *kinda* wish I could take riskier moves. But I know myself and I wouldn't sleep so would never work. So I would say for me it's harder in a boom . . . But only in a theoretical way. I would never act on it.

Yeah FOMO is real even if you don't act on it.

It is easy to look back and see all the obvious plays.

[Larry Ragman]

Yeah FOMO is real even if you don't act on it.

It is easy to look back and see all the obvious plays.

Yes, but with experience you realize the sound and fury of big market wins is like celebrating lottery winners - unlikely to be repeatable. On this forum I suspect most find it easier to stay steady than the average investor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the outcome is that people find it harder to maintain when the market is booming. There are a lot of comments favoring Bitcoin or Tesla, or whatever right now...

Anyway, my answer is harder when crashing because I am closer to retirement and I worry about SORR. But armed with knowledge and a bit of self-discipline I have been able to stay the course during downturns, maybe TLH where appropriate, and try to find new money to invest.

[Tangler]

Yeah FOMO is real even if you don't act on it.

It is easy to look back and see all the obvious plays.

For me it is slightly different. I feel like I have minimal need for large new gains. When it drops, It does not bother me because I feel like I can buy on sale and I buy and rebalance according to IPS.

I know it is irrational (should not matter) but when It booms I wonder: should I sell? Am I taking too much risk?

I just don't want to lose. I already feel like I won. Probably will never spend it all.

BUT, I am youngish (47) and I "need" to keep a decent stock allocation (60-70%) to avoid longevity risk (inflation etc.) and I am pretty comfortable with 70% but I do feel a little irrationally disgusted when I see the market boom....I think.......wow, this seems like a bubble......gloom is on the horizon.....I will feel really sick when it drops.

Then it drops and I feel like: OK, time to buy! I feel a little yucky, but when I buy I feel great and think: Awesomeness!

[FreshPaint]

I have no feelings when the market drops but when it booms and I hear about people taking 500k and turning it into 2M over 12 months I *kinda* wish I could take riskier moves. But I know myself and I wouldn't sleep so would never work. So I would say for me it's harder in a boom . . . But only in a theoretical way. I would never act on it.

Well, my brother had 300k in an IRA last summer which he turned into 2.5m as of about a week ago. He's an attending in his mid 30s. He indexed about 1m and the rest is still in individual stock plays. His portfolio can swing several hundred thousand dollars in a day.

I could never invest the way he does, but to him it's just a video game on his brokerage app.

[wideopenspaces]

Well, my brother had 300k in an IRA last summer which he turned into 2.5m as of about a week ago. He's an attending in his mid 30s. He indexed about 1m and the rest is still in individual stock plays. His portfolio can swing several hundred thousand dollars in a day.

I could never invest the way he does, but to him it's just a video game on his brokerage app.

Oh man I'd die from a heart attack ;-)

[Lordosis]

Well, my brother had 300k in an IRA last summer which he turned into 2.5m as of about a week ago. He's an attending in his mid 30s. He indexed about 1m and the rest is still in individual stock plays. His portfolio can swing several hundred thousand dollars in a day.

I could never invest the way he does, but to him it's just a video game on his brokerage app.

Hopefully he quits while he is ahead. Most gamblers I know do not.

[hillaj1]

Making the decision to be an investor and not a speculator is a big one. It takes maturity and thought. It takes gumption.

Reading A Random Walk Down Main Street had a big influence on me personally during residency and allowed me to “grow up” into an investor. That being said, I never sold the $5,000 worth of Apple I bought and it sticks out in my portfolio as a monster success. The urge to speculate will always persist, but like a recovered drug addict, you must admit you are weak and fight it.

Nothing ever worth it was easy.