Well, I guess this is what makes a market.
My previous post linked to Jeremy Grantham of GMO in Barron's saying to hold off buying stocks (but even then he'd probably be buying too soon once he started at some point in the future). And the same day The New York Times runs a piece with this:
Martin J. Whitman, a professional investor for more than 50 years,
said that as long as economies worldwide could avoid an outright
depression, stocks were amazingly cheap. Mr. Whitman manages the $6
billion Third Avenue Value fund, which returned 10.2 percent annually
for the 15 years that ended Sept. 30, almost two percentage points a
year better than the S.& P. 500 index. The fund is down 46 percent
this year.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Mr. Whitman said. “The most important securities are being given away.”
I'll follow Marty's advice over Grantham any day. He is a true value investor that I have admired for years. Stocks will recover, the world will keep spinning, and in the meantime valuations are much too attractive to pass up right here. Fundamentals haven't changed overnight. A saying that we all have probably heard once or twice but rings very true now "you make most of your money in a down market, you just don't know it at the time". Invest wise all.
Posted by: mary | October 13, 2008 at 09:27 AM
I think that in general, stocks are very cheap on a historical basis, but that does not mean that we cannot trade lower.
Posted by: Gleb Gorkhover | October 13, 2008 at 04:34 PM
mary: Wise sentiments, thanks for sharing.
Gleb: True, and that makes the case for investing with the long term in mind.
Posted by: John | October 13, 2008 at 10:37 PM