Everyone’s looking for signs that the markets have rebounded and some stocks are at rock-bottom prices, but does that mean it’s a good idea to get in on financial stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) right now?
Matt Krantz for USA Today says that the recent history of financials shouldn’t mar your opinion of them too much. The problem now, of course, is calling the bottom. You can never know if the problem is over, or the extent of it, until some time passes.
Krantz suggests some ETFs that aren’t 100% focused on financials. For example, the Vanguard Value (VTV) is 27% financial. If the crisis has hit bottom, you could stand to benefit from any recovery. If it worsens, your entire portfolio won’t be sunk, as the fund is also allocated in energy, health care and industrials.
Year-to-date, this fund is down 3%.
We say: pack up the crystal ball.
The surest way to protect yourself is by firmly sticking to your investment plan. Don’t allow thought, hope, emotion or speculation to cloud your decision-making. Low prices are very tempting, but if a fund, be it a financial ETF or something else, is not above its 200-day moving average, keep an eye on it but pass it by until it does.
Instead of wondering if there’s a turnaround in a certain sector and rolling the dice, why not just be in those areas that are already performing?