Been there done that. It's difficult for a long investor like myself to be convinced to take the whole farm at once and "go to cash", despite occasional ideal times to do so. As a result, I consolidate my portfolio at the beginning of a pullback into very limited holdings which I believe will see a big upside based on fundamentals that is likely to shine through even during the middle of a tightening period. Of course we can all be dead wrong at any time, either traders or longs. My "core" focus is on coal and oil, specifically those which have earnings release cycles in early 2011, such that even though 10Q release dates may happen in the middle of a tightening cycle, I still expect PPS to pop well above current levels. But with just about everything else I invest in, I have learned to get out before the going gets tough, then use a watch list for a good re-entry point. But since history never quite exactly repeats itself, sometimes my moves don't give maximum profit, but at least they don't leave me permanently underwater (I won't sell low any core holding) and I usually still show a great profit after tightening is over. Case in point - LPH, my cost basis was underwater during the spring 2010 correction by as much as -17 percent, yet I eventually made out with around 70 percent profit. On the other hand, with LLEN, I didn't sell recently at the high cuz last year the December earnings produced nary a blip from the post-earnings sell-the-news, yet this year there was a fairly large sell-the-news because of macro effects. I'm still 30 percent over my cost basis in LLEN, so I am going to stay long to not miss the spring earnings release cycle or potential spikes from acquisition announcements that are being hinted at.
Whether you're a trader or a long, GLTA.
AI
