Anyone else selling...?

Ciprico

I liquidated half my holdings when Corona first "happened", after the markets had sunk about 5%, my logic Corona could only be bad news, and nothing positive could come out of it, so at worst I would incur the transaction costs, I wasn;t looking to profit, just reduce losses
I bought back a large chunck of VLS a few weeks later, I didn't hit the high or the low, but made a nice margin. I also bought a large (for me) chunk of SMT, RioTinto and Shell.
SMT and Rio up 30%, Shell down 20%, luckily biggest purchase was SMT.  I'd been after some more SMT for a while, so no hesitation weekly drip buying throughout the drop.
I am not, and don't want to be a trader, but now felt uncomfortable having so much in high risk investments, so today sold SMT and Rio, (hoping for more recovery from Shell...)
I'm inclined to sell more funds, and maybe even buy some UK Gilts, as I can't fathom why the stock market is rising against, it seems every possible logical arguement. 
I am expecting a chorus of the MSE massive saying they will hold at all costs and the market will go up and down as sure as day is day, but I prefer to try to avoid some of the downs, and have a feeling a drop is coming...
Anyone else nervous, or got any views to relieve my nervousness 

coyrls

If you're inventing your strategy as you go along, you are bound to be nervous.  If your strategy is to "avoid some of the downs", which is not one that I would agree with, then create some rules that would allow you to implement your strategy and follow them.

EdGasketTheSecond

Markets are held up by hope and liquidity at the moment. If you are making some profit, no harm taking it. Why buy UK gilts though as there is next to no return on them with a risk to capital on the downside with hardly any more upside potential? There's a FED meeting on Wednesday; might want to wait and see if they create an extra x trillion dollars to drive up the market some more.

green_man

It depends somewhat what the time horizons are on your investments.   I somewhat agree that the downside looks very much greater than the upside on a 12 -24 month timeline.

I am not one for ‘trading’ as such either. I did no changes on the initial drops after Covid hit. However on the recent recovery I have sold some funds in my pension to increase my pension cash balance from 3 to 5 years. This is because I intend drawing down this from early next year, so really a safety first measure.

i have not touched my income isa portfolio, some contents of which are still down substantially.  Had I the spare cash I would have been jumping in with top ups some time back.

dunstonh

Anyone else nervous, or got any views to relieve my nervousness 

You are making very high risk choices with your investment selection (right at the top end of the conventional scale) and making poor decisions and you are asking us to relieve your nervousness.  

STOP MAKING HIGH RISK DECISIONS WITHOUT STRATEGY IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE IT.

Thrugelmir

There's no harm in sitting on the sidelines for a while and holding a decent cash balance and/or investment in cash equivalents. Not as if the global economy is growing at the the current time. There'll be another opportunity to get back into the markets in due course. 

BananaRepublic

I’ve stayed invested. I knew back in January that a crash was due but couldn’t see a potential trigger, so I didn’t sell. Anyway I follow a long term investment approach. That said, the markets are surely going to be volatile for a year or more. Holding individual shares is above my risk threshold, good luck if you have the nerve to do it, and accept the outcome, good or bad. I agree that holding cash ain’t a bad idea at the moment. 

My recollection of previous crashes is that the recovery sneaks up on you which is why I will stay invested. 

Sailtheworld

123mat123 said:

I am expecting a chorus of the MSE massive saying they will hold at all costs and the market will go up and down as sure as day is day, but I prefer to try to avoid some of the downs, and have a feeling a drop is coming...
Anyone else nervous, or got any views to relieve my nervousness 

Feelings & emotions don't give you any clue as to when the next big drop is coming. They might indicate you've invested at a higher risk than you can tolerate though.

AnotherJoe

I will hold at all costs and the market will go up and down as sure as day is day, i am wise enough to know I can't avoid the downs, and ignore any feelingS I have whether  a drop is coming Or not because my feelings don't affect the market nor am I psychic.
 You could have bought back and then seen them fall again (aka dead cat bounce) You got lucky.  That's the long and short of it.

Albermarle

It depends somewhat what the time horizons are on your investments.   I somewhat agree that the downside looks very much greater than the upside on a 12 -24 month timeline.

Personally that would also be my feeling that there will be a lot of downside, but clearly the markets do not agree and they tend to look forward on a 12 -24 month timeline, or longer . Best just to Keep calm and carry on as it is all so unpredictable .

mooneysaver

123mat123 said:

I liquidated half my holdings when Corona first "happened", after the markets had sunk about 5%, my logic Corona could only be bad news, and nothing positive could come out of it, so at worst I would incur the transaction costs, I wasn;t looking to profit, just reduce losses
I bought back a large chunck of VLS a few weeks later, I didn't hit the high or the low, but made a nice margin. I also bought a large (for me) chunk of SMT, RioTinto and Shell.
SMT and Rio up 30%, Shell down 20%, luckily biggest purchase was SMT.  I'd been after some more SMT for a while, so no hesitation weekly drip buying throughout the drop.
I am not, and don't want to be a trader, but now felt uncomfortable having so much in high risk investments, so today sold SMT and Rio, (hoping for more recovery from Shell...)
I'm inclined to sell more funds, and maybe even buy some UK Gilts, as I can't fathom why the stock market is rising against, it seems every possible logical arguement. 
I am expecting a chorus of the MSE massive saying they will hold at all costs and the market will go up and down as sure as day is day, but I prefer to try to avoid some of the downs, and have a feeling a drop is coming...
Anyone else nervous, or got any views to relieve my nervousness 

No need to be nervous, a lot of people fall for the propaganda of 'buy and hold'. Asset management companies make a lot of money from people holding their investments so it is in their interest to push this narrative. You are aware the best strategy is instead to buy low and sell high and your current gains are evidence that this is indeed the best strategy. Just ensure you stay in the market as long as possible before the next drop to maximise your profits.