Timothy Collins has a simple approach when turbulence hits the markets.
With wildly gyrating markets swinging every day on news out of Ukraine and global oil markets, it can be tempting to feel like you should act.
But if you’re feeling afraid of missing some great opportunity, Real Money’s Timothy Collins has some cautionary advice.
While sitting on your hands is incredibly difficult, Timothy Collins wrote recently on Real Money, “[w]hen you are feeling antsy, it is often the best move to make.”
That’s especially true when markets and politics grow turbulent. In such times, investors can feel like they need to do something in response to an event like the coronavirus or the invasion of Ukraine. But that can lead to a kind of flailing, as investors unload assets just for the sake of selling them or buy others just to hold something.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the possibility of a quick, albeit horrible, resolution was still in the air. But as the invasion stalled, sanctions piled up, the ruble collapsed and and more and more companies pulled out of the Russia, the unprecedented nature of the events became clearer.
As an investor, an environment like that is probably a great time to wait and see what happens next. You can’t really know what to expect, so it’s hard (if not impossible) to make smart moves.
And when and if you do decide to act, make sure you like it on the fundamentals, not just for a market-based gamble. “It doesn’t matter whether you are long or short. Stay vigilant in this market and don’t take on unnecessary risk,” Collins urges.
