Non specific big picture question.I made my living as an Arts Administrator and a movie industry worker, neither of which have brought me to great riches. I am in my mid-sixties and supplementing my income, primarily derived from government pensions, with part time work. I recently sold my house and have a modest sum of money that I would like to grow for my own comfort and to leave to my children.
I have been doing some research into stocks that are quite forward looking, which is my nature, I never have been a stay at home, safe bet thinker.
Robotics, near field communications (hardware), marijuana (when there is a โbrandโ that is worth the investment) Graphene (when there is a brand worth the investment) some biotech stocks that are showing a significant upside, and gold miners when the timing is right.
I am relatively confident in my research and analytical abilities, however my question is this, and here is where my naivety shows through. I believe we are in for a major market correction and regardless of my best thought out plans, will a significant market correction drag me down. Is my timing very poor?
I thank you in advance for any time and effort you expend on my behalf.
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Your timing is always going to be poor — everyone’s timing is going to be poor.
I tend to think that the odds are not in favor of a huge run in the market from here, since we’ve been through such a long bull market, but that certainly doesn’t mean we’re about to see the major averages go down… it just means I’m not seeing things look like great bargains very often, and I’m holding on to some extra cash because I’m hoping I will see something that strikes me as a “no brainer” discounted stock.
You’re talking, largely, about stocks that are plays on specific trends and even specific products, not so much broad plays on the global economy, so I’d spend your energy thinking about why those companies should rise, what is going to drive them, and where the risk level is for those specific companies (and making sure that they aren’t all exposed to the same risks)… predicting the direction of the broad market is a losing game at least half the time, and companies that are genuinely transformational should do well in almost any market (not just good stories, which tend to blind us because of the human tendency to over-rely on a tidy narrative, but actual good businesses who have some control over their own destiny).