Frankly --- these down days - weeks, months, or even a year or two... they're good things. We all can hate them. But in the longer run - they'll teach you a lot about who you are as an investor. Patience... buying low instead of when the market is high... Holding rather than capitulating the week before they start the next leg up. Collecting dividends, and having them reinvested which will buy more shares at lower prices... AND when the market turns around, which it WILL... you'll be right back to thinking how smart you were!
Kind of like that old sports intro they used to run --- "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat".
The key is to learn. Watch and see which stocks suffered the most that you were certain were never going down... and what held it's own... and the reason behind diversity. And more importantly what TIME does for you. Pick a couple of names out that you don't currently own - write down where you think they're headed - and why - and then see if you're right about your 'hunch'. Make a note of when you'd buy them.
We've just talked about Volkswagon -- what's your hunch? It's the perfect name right now to see if you would be right or wrong. You don't have to buy it - just learn from it and see if you can pick the nuggets out of the news - and which way and how many times you'd be a "flopper" on it. LOL
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