Should I sell

Aretnap

littlemoney said:

I am wondering whether to get some out before it drops a lot more.

The question to ask yourself here is: do you have some special knowledge or insight which means that you can predict when the stock market is going to drop?

If so, why didn't you sell a couple of weeks ago?

And if not, what makes you think it's going to drop a lot more now? For all you know, we've already seen the bottom. The Dow Jones is up nearly 2000 from its lowest point already; had you sold on Friday you'd have missed out on that rise and turned a theoretical paper loss into a real, irrecoverable one. By selling now you could just as easily miss out on further recovery as avoid fresh falls.

The same applies incidentally if you're reading "we're all doomed" style newspaper columns. If the pundits who write them had warned you to sell a couple of weeks ago, that would have been useful advice. If they're warning you to sell *after* a large fall which they failed to predict then that's advice I would take with a large pinch of salt.

Albermarle

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to reassess Risk Tolerance.

The couple of nervous posters on this thread , have only mentioned £ losses or even just a 'big loss'

Nobody has mentioned % loss , which would be more interesting as this gives a more accurate reflection of the risk level of the investments involved . 100% equity funds are down around 10% - Typical medium risk multi asset fund around 4%, which is not very scary really .

Gadfium

Albermarle said:

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to reassess Risk Tolerance.

The couple of nervous posters on this thread , have only mentioned £ losses or even just a 'big loss'

Nobody has mentioned % loss , which would be more interesting as this gives a more accurate reflection of the risk level of the investments involved . 100% equity funds are down around 10% - Typical medium risk multi asset fund around 4%, which is not very scary really .

Very much this For example, the Lifestrategy 100% is down about 4.5% over this week. From Oct 18 to Jan 19 it fell 14%. Over 5 years however it is up 50%.  A Lifestrategy 60% is down about 2.5% over the last week. From Oct 18 to Jan 19 it fell 8%. Over 5 years however it is up 36%.

Of course, it could (and probably will) fall further as we are at the start of this. But it does put it into perspective.

Thrugelmir

As yet there's been no major corporate casaulties announced. Just profit downgradings from the likes of Microsoft, Apple , IAG Danoe, Levi Strauss and Diageo. Much of this guidance was given on the basis of the short term shut down in China. Not the impact if the virus was extend and disrupt markets globally. The roller coaster has only just started. 

bostonerimus

I've answered in the same way to all these virus volatility threads
Investing is not complicated. Invest just the same as you would have done before the coronavirus. Put it in a multi-asset fund or a portfolio of a few inexpensive tracker funds with an asset allocation appropriate to your circumstances. Make sure you always keep at least 6 months cash on hand for emergencies. Do that until you retire and develop a withdrawal plan