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September 26, 2011 at 08:00 PM
With the media sounding the alarm that there may be a double-dip recession, the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating and the dismal economic forecast for many European markets, it looks like many investors are becoming gun-shy, to say the least, or they are losing faith in the stock market completely. You can see evidence of this daily by listening to the news and watching the rollercoaster of results on Wall Street.
Would you believe that volatile times like these are actually a great opportunity? Let’s say you are investing a set amount of money every month. When the market goes down you will buy more shares with that money. When the market comes back up you will buy fewer shares, but now all of the shares, even the extra shares you bought at the lower price have gone up–that’s called dollar cost averaging. By following this strategy your money can compound even in a volatile market.
Healing powers
Let’s take a lesson from recent history. The stock market can plunge or soar with a moment’s notice, leaving no time to bolt. Likewise, the healing power of the market often arrives when you least expect it. This is one thing that you can be sure of–the market will go up and the market will go down in unpredictable ways. But, as Warren Buffet said, it always comes back. In early 2009, after stocks had fallen more than 50 percent, many investors and fund managers were terrified, but then the market surprised everyone, soaring 100 percent in just a few months and healing a lot of the damage caused by the crash.
