5 common investing mistakes to avoid during bull markets

Posted On Wednesday, Jun 25, 2014


With the BJP government coming to power with a clear majority, many market experts believe that India is on the verge of a long term bull market. Therefore making money in a bull market is as easy as taking candy from a baby right? Time to give that concept a second thought… many times investors fail to get the returns they deserve because they fall prey to some common mistakes while investing in bull markets.

Here are 5 common equity investing mistakes to avoid during bull markets:


1. Trying to time the markets:

Investors generally face long odds in trying to time the ups and downs of the market. Most of them are not able to spot a bull market when it is taking off. When the market runs up significantly, they realize that they have missed the bus. Timing the market is difficult and requires financial expertise. Even the so called market experts may not get their timing right. We believe investments should be goal based, not timing based. Always set your investment goals and invest for the long term. Market timings do not matter if you have a long time horizon.

2. Ignoring asset allocation:

In bull markets hot stocks are always in news. Investors get enticed to buy these stocks and invest all their money in them without paying attention to the golden rule of investment i.e. asset allocation. Asset allocation is the process of diversifying investments among several asset classes i.e. equity, debt and gold to reduce investment risk. Its objective is to lower investment risk by reducing over-reliance on one asset class. But most investors however do not realize that portfolio return is directly attributable to asset allocation. Therefore, as an investor, you need to make sure that you properly allocate your hard earned money in different asset classes in order to fulfill your investment objective.

3. Following sentiments, not fundamentals:

In a bull market, investors tend to ignore the fundamentals and focus more on market sentiments. By fundamentals we mean the business of the company, its management and long term goals, the environment in which it operates and its investment process. Short-term market movements are driven by sentiments but long-term returns by fundamentals. Therefore, use fundamentals to make investment decisions and ignore the market noise.

4. Redeeming in market rallies – the other end of the spectrum:

In a bull market, stock markets rise sharply. An expected reaction to this might be to redeem all holdings in equities. Many investors overwhelmed and cash out during the market rally. But by cashing out during bull market, investors are compromising on their long term financial goals. Therefore, rather than taking any short term measures, investors should keep on holding to their investments till their financial goal is achieved.

5. Hanging on to underperforming funds:

While investors should have a long time horizon for their investments, they should make sure not to hang on to underperforming funds. Investors should monitor their investments on a regular basis and if a fund is underperforming over a longer time and has incurred loss then it’s better to exit from that fund. Even if this entails booking losses, investors should not hesitate in exiting underperforming funds instead waiting to earn profits out of it and ultimately incur more losses.

Conclusion

Investors should avoid these common mistakes while investing in a bull market. Equity investments are essentially long term investments. By selecting good process driven mutual funds, and remaining invested in them over a long period of time, investors can create wealth in the long term by leveraging benefits of compounding. However we strongly suggest you to consult with your financial advisor before proceeding with any investment decision.



Disclaimer, Statutory Details & Risk Factors:
The views expressed here in this article are for general information and reading purpose only and do not constitute any guidelines and recommendations on any course of action to be followed by the reader. The views are not meant to serve as a professional guide / investment advice / intended to be an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial product or instrument or mutual fund units for the reader. The article has been prepared on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. Whilst no action has been solicited based upon the information provided herein, due care has been taken to ensure that the facts are accurate and views given are fair and reasonable as on date. Readers of this article should rely on information/data arising out of their own investigations and advised to seek independent professional advice and arrive at an informed decision before making any investments.

Risk Factors: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
Please visit – www.QuantumMF.com to read scheme specific risk factors. Investors in the Scheme(s) are not being offered a guaranteed or assured rate of return and there can be no assurance that the schemes objective will be achieved and the NAV of the scheme(s) may go up and down depending upon the factors and forces affecting securities market. Investment in mutual fund units involves investment risk such as trading volumes, settlement risk, liquidity risk, default risk including possible loss of capital. Past performance of the sponsor / AMC / Mutual Fund does not indicate the future performance of the Scheme(s). Statutory Details: Quantum Mutual Fund (the Fund) has been constituted as a Trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Sponsor: Quantum Advisors Private Limited. (liability of Sponsor limited to Rs. 1,00,000/-) Trustee: Quantum Trustee Company Private Limited. Investment Manager: Quantum Asset Management Company Private Limited. The Sponsor, Trustee and Investment Manager are incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.

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