sold my holding, page-24

"Hi Clark...
The correction you have when not having a correction..?
I moved my super into cash.....they say it takes 10 days sheesh....anyway I am only guessing...but a 10% correction would be healthy IMO"


OK ... that deserves a serious answer.
I dont know your circumstances or your risk aversion.
I am not saying that you are doing the wrong thing, but its not what I do.

I generally dont disturb my core holdings and long-term winners.
I've been doing this for approx 21 years, always with a view of achieving long-term success.
There have been good times, and there have been bad times.
In bad times I take the hits.
Why ?
Because if you play this game 'my way' you will find yourself with holdings such as NAB, WOW etc where my cost base is negligible. Thats the inevitable consequence of long-term success.
Therefore, if I were to sell the *only* certain outcome is that I will be handing 25% of my capital to Peter Costello.
For me to break even now, I need a 25% market correction so that I can buy back the assets which I sold just to stay in the race.
And not only do I need a 25% market correction, I need it to happen soon after I sell, because if it takes 18-24 months, thats 2 years worth of profits and dividends foregone and then I'll need a 35% market correction.
Therefore the choice I have to make is to weigh the *certainty* of losing 25% of my capital against the *maybe* chance of getting the timing of a 35% market correction perfect. Bad odds.

Best to just stick to the basics.
There is never a bad time to own good assets.
The is never a bad time to own a house with bay views.
There is never a bad time to own shares in a mine.
There is never a bad time to own shares in a supermarket.

If there is a correction, just buy more of the good stuff.
Because the man who owns 2 houses with bay views, is wealthier than the man who owns 1 house with bay views.
And the man who owns 2,000 shares of BHP is wealthier than the man who owns 1,000 shares of BHP.

Get it ?