Liquidate entire portfolio until virus is over?

HHarry

Prism said:

Yes it seems that some sectors like communications, technology and healthcare, all of which are relatively heavily represented on the Nasdaq, have done pretty well. It looks like technology in particular is no longer seen as high risk and is something to be kept during downturns. In particular 'cloud' has gone crazy with examples of Microsoft for example running out of capacity in some areas (thats a good and bad thing). Netflix is almost as valuable as Disney now. Amazon, Paypal and MecradoLibre have all done well as you would expect. Healthcare and biotech has held up pretty well too. L&G technology is up 2.8% YTD and L&G healthcare is up 3.7% YTD - neither of which I hold at the moment unfortunately.

I’d always seen my Fidelity Global Technology holding as a very high risk - it was always in my ‘access in 20+ years’ pot.  But of the funds I hold it’s done Ok over the last couple of months.
I’m not sure that Tech retailers are going to do well - I can see Apple taking a hit - but I think there are some opportunities  for people like Netflix as you say.

port_of_spain

DiggerUK said:

worldtraveller said:

CLOSING NUMBERS FROM YESTERDAY:

FTSE 100 @ 5,787 - DOWN 25% FROM PEAK

FTSE 250 @ 15,859 - DOWN 28% FROM PEAK

FTSE ALL SHARE @ 3,190 - DOWN 25% FROM PEAK

DOW JONES @ 24,242 - DOWN 18% FROM PEAK

NASDAQ @ 8,650 - DOWN 12% FROM PEAK

And the day before that, and the day before that, and not one comment by way of reply.
This thread started 45 days ago, and still the penny hasn't dropped that the fan is beyond repair..._

What is there to say to it? It's a bit like the weather forecast: it is what it is. No need to shout at the TV. Save that for when Boris Johnson is on

Investing in equities is not "beyond repair". A crash is a normal part of equity investing. The recovery could take months or years. Nothing unusual to see here.

DiggerUK

"Nothing unusual to see here"........quite right, happens at times, but not all the time.
But this time I believe it really is different..._ 

port_of_spain

DiggerUK said:

But this time I believe it really is different..._ 

The point about the saying "This time it's different" is that the people who say that are wrong

PlantMan

I sold about 40% of my portfolio and am slowly buying back on a weekly basis

bargainhunter888

PlantMan said:

I sold about 40% of my portfolio and am slowly buying back on a weekly basis

when did you sell off? are you buying back the same shares? 

BananaRepublic

port_of_spain said:

DiggerUK said:

But this time I believe it really is different..._ 

The point about the saying "This time it's different" is that the people who say that are wrong

Not always, the crash over 90 years ago was different. I profited from the GFC but this time I am concerned, it is different and could go either way. 

BananaRepublic

Thrugelmir said:

BananaRepublic said:

bostonerimus said:

bargainhunter888 said:

Alexland said:

bargainhunter888 said:

i only bought in a small amount of SWDA last week at 4240p, now it's at 4350p wondering whether i should just load up and not look at it again, it is a long term investment or should i hang on for a pullback next week? what are your thoughts?

The markets have recovered enough that there isn't clear benefit in exposing yourself to volatility above a sensible asset allocation for your circumstances. The risk vs long term potential reward profile for going heavy on equities was looking a lot more attractive a few weeks ago when the markets were in panic mode.

Yeh, i know they have recovered, i was just thinking it may still be a good opportunity with it being 15% down it's still a discount. just dont know what it will bring next week, just dont know why it's recovering given the situation especially in America

What if the historical highs were an unrealistic over valuing ie a premium and we don't get back to those highs for many years as the world economy faces contraction and reduced growth. I'm also dubious about this latest rally, but I have no idea where the markets will actually go. So keep cash on hand, rebalance when necessary and if you planned for this sort of thing by paying off your mortgage, being frugal and understanding how to control spending and keeping a diverse set of investments, ie you didn't have everything in airline stocks, you should be ok. The folks who will suffer are the gig economy people who get paid poorly and live pay cheque to pay cheque and of course the poorly paid people in the front line as they have the double whammy of low financial resources and increased potential virus exposure.

I’m also concerned about this rally as it doesn’t make sense given current economic concerns.

The lull before the storm? Many people haven't grasped the full severity of the situation. Not that anyone in authority is going to tell us what they are actually thinking. As with the GFC. The message is intentionally filtered for public consumption. 

There are quotes from senior government sources, usually unattributed of course. These suggest confusion and disagreement at the top, and a lack of political courage due to no Boris. They are probably playing it by ear. Which is reasonable as there is much to learn from watching other countries. 

A crash normally destroys weak businesses, and slows or stops investment by previously strong ones. This one could annihilate large sectors of the economy if lockdown continues. 

PlantMan

bargainhunter888 said:

PlantMan said:

I sold about 40% of my portfolio and am slowly buying back on a weekly basis

when did you sell off? are you buying back the same shares? 

Most of it is Index Trackers and I'll just buy buy the same ones, I'm also buying individual US stocks at the moment as well. 
I'm buying a little bit each week to spread my risk

kinger101

PlantMan said:

bargainhunter888 said:

PlantMan said:

I sold about 40% of my portfolio and am slowly buying back on a weekly basis

when did you sell off? are you buying back the same shares? 

Most of it is Index Trackers and I'll just buy buy the same ones, I'm also buying individual US stocks at the moment as well. 
I'm buying a little bit each week to spread my risk

You didn't answer the most important part of the question.  When did you sell?