What is your best approach for missed opportunities?

MaxiRobriguez

Voyager2002 said:

mn1 said:

How do you deal mentally with situations where an opportunity for good investment has been missed ?
For example when an advisor gives advice to buy an investment, one does not, market goes up, then one keeps waiting for a dip that seems to never happens. 
Same when the market is plummeting and one is reluctant to accept a loss and keeps hanging to a losing investment hoping for a reversal.
Thanks in advance 

You learn more from occasions when you got it wrong than from those when your decisions turned out to be right. So use these events as an opportunity for learning.

In investing as with gambling too much early success can be very dangerous. It is often a matter of chance whether or not an investment works out, yet believing that you were successful because you have some special skill or were simply born lucky is a recipe for disaster further down the line.

Guilty.

After a few years of index investing, my first three individual stock picks which I spent a long time researching and waiting for the right moment were all very profitable even in a short space of time.

Hubris hit, and my fourth stock pick is down -60% to this day. I cut the corners on the research and rushed the purchase too.

I quite like that seeing that -60%. It reminds me not to be a cocky <insert expletive here> in the future.

Savingsfox

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

It's pretty simple for me; markets always go up over time.

There's many markets. Over a given period of time, some will perform better than others. Complacency can be an investors worst enemy.  As often the signals are flashing well ahead of actual events. 

Take global positions against thousands of stocks, but at the end of the day whatever works best for you - I'll just buy the global market rather than second guess fractions of it.

thegentleway

mn1 said:

thegentleway said:

You can’t change the past so no point worrying about it. 

I totally agree, but how can one improve discipline when making investment decisions? 

Same way you improve discipline for anything. You have to come up with systems so that you stay disciplined. Make the choices you want to make easy and put lots of obstacles in the way of the wrong choices.

Thrugelmir

Savingsfox said:

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

It's pretty simple for me; markets always go up over time.

There's many markets. Over a given period of time, some will perform better than others. Complacency can be an investors worst enemy.  As often the signals are flashing well ahead of actual events. 

Take global positions against thousands of stocks, but at the end of the day whatever works best for you - I'll just buy the global market rather than second guess fractions of it.

I'd say that you are more exposed to both concentration and contagion risk than you realise. Nor is your portfolio particularly diverse by holding just one segment of the investment universe. In due course a new investment fad will be attracting the majority of retail investors money inflows. 

[Deleted User]

mn1 said:

For example when an advisor gives advice to buy an investment, one does not, market goes up, then one keeps waiting for a dip that seems to never happens.

Holding long-term will help; you won't be so focussed on the entry/exit price for individual stocks after some of your investments double and double again. But you won't get everything right, nobody does. 

Who do you mean by advisors giving advice to buy an investment? 
City commentators usually have an ulterior motive for whatever they highlight. Motley Fool commentators will provide a convincing argument for buying or selling the same stock either side of lunch. Most financial advisers couldn't find the couch in your living room. 
Message board advice usually backs up a poster's pre-existing position and for full bats**t
crazy go to stocktwits Aapl or Tesla.
Be wary of anybody who tells you that buying *** makes you smarter than the person selling it to you.

Savingsfox

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

It's pretty simple for me; markets always go up over time.

There's many markets. Over a given period of time, some will perform better than others. Complacency can be an investors worst enemy.  As often the signals are flashing well ahead of actual events. 

Take global positions against thousands of stocks, but at the end of the day whatever works best for you - I'll just buy the global market rather than second guess fractions of it.

I'd say that you are more exposed to both concentration and contagion risk than you realise. Nor is your portfolio particularly diverse by holding just one segment of the investment universe. In due course a new investment fad will be attracting the majority of retail investors money inflows. 

So my strategy will allow me to miss out on fads? Great 👍 

george4064

mn1 said:

thegentleway said:

You can’t change the past so no point worrying about it. 

I totally agree, but how can one improve discipline when making investment decisions? 

Stay invested.

Ensure your portfolio is truly diversified (by geography, sectors, styles, market cap). So if value stocks outperform growth stocks or small caps have a very strong year whilst large caps struggle, wont bother you because you are invested in each of those styles/sectors.

Shedman

Don't dwell on the one you missed (although human nature being what it is easier to say than do),  especially as it's only in hindsight that you know you've missed out.   Do you dwell on the ones that you missed out on that have plummeted? ....unlikely.   You didn't invest so move on.    Bit like London buses...there's usually another opportunity along shortly.

Thrugelmir

Savingsfox said:

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

Thrugelmir said:

Savingsfox said:

It's pretty simple for me; markets always go up over time.

There's many markets. Over a given period of time, some will perform better than others. Complacency can be an investors worst enemy.  As often the signals are flashing well ahead of actual events. 

Take global positions against thousands of stocks, but at the end of the day whatever works best for you - I'll just buy the global market rather than second guess fractions of it.

I'd say that you are more exposed to both concentration and contagion risk than you realise. Nor is your portfolio particularly diverse by holding just one segment of the investment universe. In due course a new investment fad will be attracting the majority of retail investors money inflows. 

So my strategy will allow me to miss out on fads? Great 👍 

People rarely come up with their strategies at the outset. More often or not is taking another concept and dispensing with the parts they believe to be irrelevant. I can assure you that you'll never ever stop learning when it comes to investing.  

Linton

Looking for opportunities with a small part of your portfolio is just not worth the effort - even if it works out it wont make a massive difference to your long term return.  You could put a large part of your portfolio into a dead cert opportunity  but that is taking serious risk.

Better in my view to invest as broadly as possible, and wait for the long term.