I sold my S&S ISA 4 months ago

somerandomusername

and in that time the ftse global all cap is up 17.45%.

I sold for a good reason though, to secure my money to buy my first property, but 17.45% in 4 months after selling makes me feel sick to my stomach. Considering the market averages 9% per year, losing out on nearly 18% in 4 months is gut wrenching.

And the worst part is I've not even bought the property yet as I'm still in the active stages of making offers.

surreysaver

Imagine what you'd feel if you hadn't sold and it had dropped 17.45%

DodgyDave88

Annoying isn't it? Nothing can be done though as you needed the funds ready to go.

Start adding back in when the house is sorted! Also assume you have a pension? Keep thinking that will have increased a similar amount (as long as it's in the right fund!)

It's even worse when you think of an 18% rise in 4 months is the equivalent of around 4 years of it sitting in a high interest bank account ! (4-5% PA)

FrugaiMacDugal

somerandomusername said:

and in that time the ftse global all cap is up 17.45%.

So, how have your individual holdings done since then?

Alexland

somerandomusername said:

I sold for a good reason though, to secure my money to buy my first property

You did the right thing at the time and you have to make peace with that.

If you are about to buy a property with the money then it would have been wholly inappropriate to have stayed invested in a global index tracker. Markets could have dropped 50% and taken a decade to recover.

I did similar owning a FTSE100 tracker (that's what people did back then) just before buying my first property  and luckily got away with it but I didn't know any better at the time.

Be thankful of the gains you made cutting it so close to using the money.

Hattie627

We've probably all had a similar experience at some time. Some you win, some you lose. It's the nature of the beast (investing). If you ruminate over it too much, you will lose the confidence to invest in the future. Like falling off a bike, you need to get back on again. Take advice, assess your appetite for risk and your time horizons, do everything sensibly and you will be fine. Without being flippant, life ain't fair, at least it's only money and you're still alive and breathing.

artyboy

Meh, I've got a stash in money markets waiting for the right time to invest. Happens. Could be a huge crash tomorrow...

UKX69

somerandomusername said:

and in that time the ftse global all cap is up 17.45%.

I sold for a good reason though, to secure my money to buy my first property, but 17.45% in 4 months after selling makes me feel sick to my stomach. Considering the market averages 9% per year, losing out on nearly 18% in 4 months is gut wrenching.

And the worst part is I've not even bought the property yet as I'm still in the active stages of making offers.

Name of the Game. I got out of the market earlier this year after 35 plus years investing. More of a hobby than anything else, but it’s still gut wrenching to sell and see an investment rise in value. In my 70’s now so the time horizon is getting shorter and need to move on to something else. 

Albermarle

If it was exactly 4 months ago, you have only missed out on 9 to 10% .
However if it was actually 5 months ago then.....

Eyeful

You did the correct thing, you needed that money to buy the property.
How would you feel now if it had fallen by 17.45%?
Both Warren Buffett & his partner Charlie Munger missed out on bigger rises than that. They did not dwell on them.
Suggest that you follow their example!

jimexbox

I've been taking profits the last few weeks, so I've lost out on some equity I've sold. I'm not fussed, I'm at an age where a sustained downturn lasting 5 or 6 years would affect my retirement, so I sleep easier. I'm in a decent position, I will return to equities if it all goes pop. 

Good luck everyone, whatever position you take in the next 12 months.