What Stock Investment Advice You Can Get Amidst Economic Slowdown

IT’S, I DUNNO — third or fourth week — of the enhanced community quarantine, aka lockdown, and I started making myself a dizzy couch potato while in a constrained space of mobility — living area, kitchen, bedroom, and a few meters to a neighborhood sundry store for a smoke.

TRIAL AND ERROR, and I spent hours figuring out what could possibly be improved about the aesthetics and functionalities of this blog. It didn’t come to waste after all as I had a few minor tweaks (if you mind checking) — added the rounded social share buttons and the related posts widget below — which, as I do hope, will satisfy your taste.

Just sharing more, I also had a futile attempt to reinstall the Facebook Comments plugin. It didn’t work as I expected, and so I gave it up. I have observed that even top websites out there already scraped it off their pages. I’d think more about it though. In the meantime, please use our social media channels — Facebook and Twitter for your other insights about what I write here — just FOLLOW @signedMARCO. No worries, I don’t do mass tagging there.

Before I get into the substance of this entry, as if I always do, let me promote first our in-house articles about stock market investing — BOOKMARK this page to read them later on.

• Paano Ako Pumasok sa Stock Market?
• Iba’t ibang Uri ng Stocks
• 4 Na Kamalian ng Stock Investors
• Stock Market: Scam o Hindi?
• Bakit Pabago-bago (tumataas at bumabagsak) ang Presyo ng Stocks?
• Bakit Magandang Mag-invest sa Stock Market?
• How You Can Make Millions in the Philippine Stock Market
• Best Mobile Apps for Monitoring PSE Stocks
• 9 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Stock Market
• You Shouldn’t Be a STOCK INVESTOR If…
• Dividends, Stock Splits, and Rights Offerings (Basics)
• How to Invest in the Philippine Stock Market

Next to the COVID-19 health concerns comes the economic slowdown that threatens the stock market and brings headaches to most stock investors, including me of course. To tell you honestly, I’ve got a bloody paper loss by more or less FIFTY PERCENT. I started to keep my eyes off my portfolio (though others say it’s time to do the analyzing and rebalancing) and rather seek words of wisdom and relief from the stock market experts, hence what I am about to share here. As what I have been writing — THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

1| Don’t Panic. Even though investors experienced steep losses during the housing crisis, for example, those who stayed invested likely not only recovered their losses; they likely also grew their wealth over the next several years as the market rebounded. If your stocks are part of a long-term investment strategy, experts say your best bet is to keep calm and stay still – even during a global pandemic – Forbes Councils, This Wealth Expert Advises Investors Not to Panic During a Pandemic| Forbes

2| Stay Invested. Sounds a cliché for most stock investors, but Warren Buffett said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Investors risk doing greater damage than good to their portfolio by timing the market. Instead, follow Buffett’s tried and true method of buying, holding, and adding to stocks over time. In the light of coronavirus pandemic, Buffett said, “Since the basic game is so favorable, Charlie and I believe it’s a terrible mistake to try to dance in and out of it based upon the turn of tarot cards, the predictions of ‘experts,’ or the ebb and flow of business activity. The risks of being out of the game are huge compared to the risks of being in it.” – Daniel Sparks, Should You Buy Stocks Now or Wait? Here’s Buffett’s Advice | Tulsa World

3| Know Your Stocks. Staying invested in high-quality companies over long periods of time entails taking a few body shots on the way. But staying out of the markets altogether when everything rallies can turn out to be a knockout from a total return standpoint. If you’ve read any of my recent pieces on keeping dry powder aside for times like these and buying these dips, this is precisely the time to be buying – Chris MacDonald, How to Stay Invested During Coronavirus and the Market Crash| The Motley Fool

4| Take Value Seriously. It is tough to say what will happen with these ‘Black Swan’ events. Most of what is happening is in uncharted territory. But I think that we are likely to have more volatility and down days over the next few months. Hence, an investment philosophy of buy and hold is really hard right now. But I am planning on staying the course as a long-term dividend growth investor – Dividend Power, Buy and Hold Is Really Hard Right Now | Seeking Alpha

5| Do Your Cost Averaging. If you are sitting on a massive pile of cash, you may be asking yourself, “Is now a good time to be investing in stocks?” For the rest of us, dollar-cost averaging (DCA) makes it easier to answer the question of should you be investing now? The answer will almost always be YES – David Rae, 6 Tips To Ride Out Coronavirus Stock Market Volatility| Forbes

6| Don’t Bet Your Emergency Fund. Before you dive into the stock market, though, there’s another fund you should have in place: an emergency fund. Having emergency savings to cover unexpected expenses and loss of employment should be one of your first financial priorities regardless of the state of the economy, but it’s even more crucial right now as businesses continue to lay off employees and mandate salary decreases — Elizabeth Aldrich, A Financial Adviser Told Me to Save Money to Invest During a Financial Crisis, and I’m Finally Ready to Use That Cash | Business Insider

7| Think Long Term. While you may like to exit an investment in the bear market, doing so without carefully analyzing the repercussions may adversely impact your portfolio in the long run. Nothing lasts forever, and so the crisis inflicted on the markets by the Covid-19 crisis may also end after a while. After assessing your financial capability and risk tolerance, you may also consider accumulating more shares in a bear market as the markets are down – Adhil Shetty, What Should Be Your Investment Strategy During the Covid-19 Crisis | Yahoo Finance

While there are lots of expert stock investment advice out there amidst the economic slowdown induced by coronavirus pandemic, it’s still us who make informed decisions about our stock positions. As what Normal Ralph Augustine once said, “If stock market experts were so expert, they would be buying stocks, not selling advice.”