Staying the Course

Today is an ugly day in the market. Don't know why, don't care. But I see that not just my portfolio is getting slammed. That's a good thing. I take it to mean none of the fundamentals of my holdings have changed, just a beat down day for everyone.  My 2 current favorites, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, have been up or down at least 10% every day for the last 3 weeks. On average, more ups than downs.

My point is that on days like this, it's very easy to panic and sell. Or just panic. The stock market is all about ups and downs. If you can't take the downs, don't ask for the ups.

As I've said many times, when the market drops for no identifiable reason (ie., recessions) and takes a lot of stocks with it, this is a buying opportunity.  Why? Because when everyone comes to their senses, and this may take a little while, they're realize that those companies haven't changed fundamentally. And if they haven't changed, chances are people's perspective of them hasn't changed either. So any huge dip will probably get reversed.