The only problem with market timing is getting the timing right.
~ Peter Lynch
When I was young, I remember looking at the business section of a newspaper and asking:
“Why don’t people just buy at the 52-week low?”
Now that I’ve worked in the investment industry for decades, I better understand the facts about market timing.
See the results of investing $5,000 in the S&P500 over 35 years at the best possible time vs theworst possible time.
Source: First Trust, Bloomberg. Data is daily from 12/31/1990 -12/31/2025.
The absolutely perfect vs the absolutely worst market timing decisions both did well but those who stayed in cash had drastically less.
That’s amazing when you think about it!
Of course, nobody always invests at the annual market highs or lows – not even professionals – but that is the point. Trying to time markets takes a lot of effort and can actually be counterproductive.
That’s why our professional money management is not primarily about market timing but your personal risk tolerance and time horizon.
Call us to talk about your portfolio!
