OT--MSGI. I think your 100% cash is smart, especially if your style is buy high/sell higher. People ask me how did you make so much in the stock market. I always tell them that "making money in the stock market is easy, but NOT losing money is hard". When I was younger I used to live in California. My friends and I would go over to Reno and watch the football games and wager some money on the spreads. Normally I lost because I bet too often. I met a guy who was successful. His secret was to look at the entire season as a whole. He figured in 16 weeks he'd probably only make 5 bets TOTAL. His philosophy was to sit in cash, be patient, and wait for the biggest fattest easiest "pitches" to come along and then "swing". Otherwise he just sat. Very very hard to do though.
Some wise investor (not me!) said "don't confuse a bull market with brains". You get confident in what you can do and start thinking you can make money in a flat or bear market and that is not usually true. Most people aren't that smart. It might be wiser to take your money market rate, wait for the next "bull market", not lose any money in the mean time, and plan on making a killing again when you are flush in cash while everyone else is trying to recoup their loses. I think too often (and that includes me) people want to make a return of X%/year or $X/year to justify their effort. But if you look at investing in the stock market as a lifetime event, then taking breaks during times of uncertainity are wise.
I'm glad you posted your words of caution because us VMC'ers need to remind ourselves that in true bear market, nobody is going to be buying microcap stocks & liquidity will disappear.
AI
