If you are waiting for something not to worry about in the stock market (or life for that matter), it’s not going to happen.
Seriously.
There is never a perfectly pristine time unhindered by worries in which to act. There is always a reason to not do something with your life or with your investments.
Always.
I was reminded of this reading iconic investor, Bill Miller’s, third quarter market letter. He says that he doesn’t worry about the market because everyone else does that for him. Concern about this-that-and-the-other-thing will not keep him from making long-term investment decisions.
We can learn a thing or two from Bill. He’s been in on anything from Amazon to Bitcoin.1 He even beat the S&P 500 15 years in a row until 2005. Like any investor, he hasn’t always been a winner. He bet big on bank stocks in 2008 and lost a whole lot more than the S&P 500 did.2
We want guys like Bill to give us the one stock to choose that will change our lives forever, yet maybe the most important thing he can say isn’t the hot stock pick, but to keep investing in the face of constant worry-warting regarding Wall Street.
Worry makes you rely on investment timing, when the key to investing is often time-in itself. If fretting over the latest market threat is what keeps you from investing, it will keep you from it forever.
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Sources:
1. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/bill-miller-likes-whole-foods-deal-plus-valeant-and-bitcoin.html