Don’t Feed the Bears
By Paul Price
That’s the motto of 2013’s bull market so far. Traders who were bearish and heavily in cash last fall, ahead of the Fiscal Cliff deadline, have had few chances to get into stocks on pullbacks.
The week ended July 12 was no exception. Decent gains on Monday and Tuesday were followed by a flattish Wednesday. Anyone praying for a major sell-off had their hopes dashed when the DJIA & NASDAQ surged on Thursday to new all-time records.
Gains have been almost non-stop in 2013. The late-April pullback was shallow. The May through June sell-off was significant but anguished bears were too busy hoping for ‘the big one’ to buy into a mere 6% decline.
When market timers had their best buying opportunity of the year they often passed on taking action. Yogi and Boo Boo must be getting very hungry and frustrated.
We were not fooled by our politicians last fall. We refused to be hoodwinked by Chairman Bernanke’s Taper talk in June (see Don't Fear the Taper).
By remaining fully invested we’ve managed to compile an excellent track record without employing any leverage or options.
As of July 13, 2013, our Virtual Value Portfolio is ahead by 25.3% since its October 26, 2012 inception date. The $100,000 initial stake has grown to $125,319.
See full details about all open and close-out positions here.
In our Virtual Put Selling Portfolio, we have been collecting premiums through put writing. That portfolio has been doing well since we got it started in January of this year.
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