Friday, February 18, 2011

Whither Me

The market's on a tear.  The smart guys are on the sidelines, but I'm in it. I'm a genius. Me and Cramer.  I've got 75% of my assets in these five stocks:  GOOG, COP, OIH, C and ATPG, and they're all up big. But there's a reckoning coming.  QE will cease someday.  Maybe in June. Everybody knows about it.  Shall I get out in May? Sell everything, hunker down, wait?

But what if GOOG is still below $700?  Oil not at $110 yet.... C under $6.... ATPG under $25?  Why sell anything?  If the correction is 10%, I could at best catch only 5% of it.  Is it worth it to chase the correction and end up on the sidelines when the market burps and keeps going? I ask myself.

Maybe I should eschew market calls altogether, keep these stocks forever, sell a few shares when I need a little walking around money. Things look like hell now, but they are getting better.  Remember the words of that stock market sage, Steve Miller:  Time keeps on slipping... into the future!  And the past:  this is 1995, when the market gained 35% and then kept on doing it for the next five years.

Trade, or hold forever.  Which to do?

To me, the choice is not just a financial decision.  It's which way will be more fun.