The day after ....

It was a blood bath on Wall Street yesterday - the market had the single worst day of losses since 9/11. Actually I find it surprising that such a major drop had not occurred in these past 5+ years.

Here is some food for thought (for the day after):

I think this is the key question casual investors should ask themselves. "Do you have the time to monitor your portfolio on a regular basis to sell some of your securities when they are at the high end of a valuation range and to buy them back when they are low?" You should also add in the time needed to read newsletters and investment reports for the companies you own so you are well informed about them. You will still have the occasional Enron, WorldCom, Lucent, Tyco etc. meltdowns where the business looked good and analysts loved the stocks and were wrong. Getting slaughtered in a stock pick now and then is a given for investors. If all this is too much for you, then I think following John Bogle's advice to buy index funds with 95% of your assets is the best advice out there.

Source: Misconceptions: Market Timing verse Stock Picking