Lately I've been thinking about how stock markets actually work...

· Aug 14

It's clear that stocks, especially since COVID, move a lot based on expectations, because there are the most investors and parked cash in history in the market. We all try to keep finding the best opportunities and diversify and watch every economic event and so on.

All of that is of course very important, but in the end we still come back to the fact that stock markets grow over the long term. If that weren't the case, the whole economy could easily stagnate, and that's nowhere near happening. I'm talking here about long-term "no growth". 2 or 3 years of decline are normal.

I simply invest for the long term, largely in the index, and I'm at peace. How about you?

A community member's personal view, not investment advice. Community Guidelines

Jan Blecha @janblecha Aug 14

I agree, but in today's fast-changing world with strong market moves, it often comes down to what you have in your portfolio. Of course, I try to invest long-term, also from a tax perspective, but simply when $MU shoots up a hundred percent in a few months, I just take some profits. I think it really depends on your approach and what stocks you buy, because I also have stocks like $MCD and $PEP in my portfolio, and there "buy and hold" fits well.

Dušan Kubala @dusankubala Aug 15

The question is also whether after those 100% it still has something to offer, so one doesn't have to give it up, but then again, what's at home counts, and unrealized gains are not gains.....

Martin Sedláček @martinsedlacek Aug 14

Exactly, since I have an investment horizon of 40+ years, I invest for the long term and try to build a portfolio based on companies I know and understand. Of course, I balance the portfolio with index investments.

Daniel Bárta @danbarta Aug 19

Great. In my opinion, it is simply not about quick profit, but about steadily building a portfolio.

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