Now that you've seen my systems - and have read the System Description - I found this IBD article:
IBD's 20 Rules: No. 18 You Can Time Your Market Entry
Investor's Corner
IBD's 20 Rules: No. 18 You Can Time Your Market Entry
By DAVID SAITO-CHUNG, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 10/06/2011 04:19 PM ET
IBD's 20 Rules: An Investor's Corner Series
Eighteenth In A Series
It seems fewer pundits these days say or write, "You can't time the market."
Now, there will always be some folks who repeat that worn-out refrain. But nothing could be further than the truth.
Readers who consistently read IBD's Big Picture and Market Pulse table know that not only can you or any investor time the market, but it's critical to do so if you want to succeed in growth investing.
Life is all about timing. People go to high school first, then attend college. We tend to think about having a family only after we've found the right person. Autumn follows summer, not vice versa.
Who, then, can say that timing the market correctly is the exception rather than the rule?
Some academics and fund companies have pointed out that missing a handful of key trading sessions in any given bull market cycle costs you a big part of the market's gains.
This makes complete sense â if you only invest in mutual funds. Big gains in a diversified equity fund tend to arise when you have held through a large number of market cycles and you reinvest the yearly capital gains.
But in the case of stocks, getting in the market when most stocks are rising â the very definition of a bull market â truly increases your chances of making money.
The market tends to turn higher when investors least expect it. When people should be buying stocks, they usually refuse to do so due to their emotions. Some don't want to get burned again. Others won't venture on a new leader and instead keep a portfolio of poor performers, hoping they'll be nursed back to health.
Regardless how you or your neighbor feels, bear markets end and new bull markets begin. Why? A profound shift in supply and demand for stocks takes place. The goal of IBD's Big Picture is to spot those shifts and point out the best stocks leading the way.
On Sept. 1, 2010, the major indexes surged higher in rising volume. The follow-through, as noted in the following day's Big Picture, sparked a band of new leaders breaking out of good bases and roaring to new highs. The follow-through signals that strong demand for stocks is returning to the market.
As The Big Picture and the Investor's Corner have noted, not all follow-throughs are successful. But every great bull market since at least 1900 began with one.
The Big Picture's other big job? To spotlight key market tops. On July 27, the S&P 500 fell 2% in higher volume. In the next day's IBD, Market Pulse switched the outlook to "Market in correction." Not only was it the third distribution day in a row, but it marked the S&P 500's eighth session of intense institutional selling in recent weeks.
<u>Let me know if this is helpful.</u>
