Investors still buy funds and sell at the wrong times, especially in volatile markets
By
JOHN COUMARIANOS
Volatility has taken hold of the financial markets, and it’s likely to bring out the worst in investors.
This year, the S&P 500 index swooned nearly 5% in January, remained flat in February, and surged more than 6.5% for the month of March. That’s after erasing last year’s August-September 8% drop with an 8.4% October gain.
Moreover, smaller-company stocks, represented by the Russell 2000 index, were down more than 20% from their late-summer peaks in February, before storming back more than 10% since then.
Moves like this drive investors crazy, often causing them to trade their holdings in damaging ways.
Here’s how investors hurt themselves, and what they can do to stop it.
The Big Mistake Investors Still Make, continued
