Building Wealth Doc's note: "What should I do when I hit a stop loss?" It's a question I get a lot from readers. Today, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud explains exactly what he wants you to do...
Mania and euphoria have gripped the markets. The Melt Up is here, my friend.
That both excites and terrifies me.
It's exciting because the biggest gains are going to bold investors right now. And they could continue in the months ahead.
It's also terrifying because I know how things will end for a lot of the folks getting rich right now. And it ain't pretty.
It's too easy to fall in love with your stocks in times like these. And that can lead to crucial mistakes at the worst possible time.
One of those mistakes is not knowing what to do when you hit a stop. But it's really as simple as you probably expect.
Let me explain...
This isn't my first Melt Up. Far from it.
I witnessed my first in 1993 in Hong Kong stocks. The Melt Down that followed was brutal. As a broker, I watched clients dig in and refuse to sell, often racking up incredible losses in the process.
Because I follow markets around the world, I've seen plenty of Melt Ups and Melt Downs since then. And holding and hoping as the bull market unravels has been a common thread in all cases.
That's why you need to prepare yourself for what's coming now. I'll use my experience to help you along. But at the end of the day, you must act for yourself.
The moment of truth will be when you hit your stops. That's when you've got to decide to act or not. But here's the thing...
There isn't a choice to make. You must follow your stop and sell at that moment.
You'll tell yourself you don't have to. You'll have fallen in love with that stock by then. But trust me, the stock doesn't love you. The market doesn't love you. It doesn't care.
When you hit a stop, there isn't a choice to make. You sell. That's it. No matter how hard it is, or how terrible it feels.
So yes, today's message is a bit tongue-in-cheek. What do you do when you hit a stop? You sell!
I wouldn't be writing to you if it were easy, though. It's not. Especially in times like these.
You need to mentally plan for the Melt Down now. Get in tune with what's to come. Think about how it might feel when prices come tumbling down... how painful it'll be to sell when you hit your stops.
And finally, make the commitment to sell anyway... at the point you've decided.
If you do that now, then you've got a chance. You'll be able to act when you need to, instead of freezing in the fear of the moment. And you'll be in the best possible position to lock in your Melt Up gains.
In a just-released video, I explain why this could be the last chance many of us get to make irrational gains in the U.S. market for years or decades to come.
I'm not recommending you sit on the sidelines.
To make the biggest gains, you want to stay invested in stocks for as much of the remaining Melt Up as possible... no matter how stupid it gets.
But to do that, you need to have a plan in place for what you are going to do when the Melt Down does finally arrive.
If you don't have that plan in advance, then you will sink with the ship.
It is as simple as that.
Click here to see exactly what I think you should do...
Good investing,
Steve