re: Dow down 700 pts

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Looking for some guidance.. I’m 10% down across 4 individual stocks. Do I sell this or hang on to it and ride it out?

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Truly, no offense is intended. But you should definitely sell any individual equity positions that you have, invest in mutual funds and never buy an individual equity again. Really. Individual stocks are not meant for everyone, and your question indicates that you shouldn't be buying them. There's nothing wrong with mutual fund investing. In fact, it usually turns out better for most people.

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Looking for some guidance..

I’m 10% down across 4 individual stocks. Do I sell this or hang on to it and ride it out?

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How do you expect someone to help without knowing what 4 stocks you own?

The advice someone gave with the mutual funds is probably a great idea for you.

AAPL has been painful to own lately.

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Mutual funds are a collection of individual stocks so why would an investor buying shares of an individual equity be a poor choice?

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Because he’s asking for advice without telling us what he owns. He doesn’t understand that a 10% drop on one stock may be totally different than a 10% drop in a different stock

Let people who do it for a living figure out what to do

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There is a reason the average investor underperforms the market.

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But does everyone know why that is? It's not necessarily because an investor's individual picks are bad.

It has a lot to do with the cash position of their portfolios.

A person holding individual stocks usually retains a higher portion of cash in their account while S&P500 index mutual funds keep a relatively small position in cash. IOW, mutual funds are more likely to be close to 'fully invested' than a typical individual investor.

The rationale is people don't buy equity mutual funds in order to stay OUT of the stock market. Plus most professional, i.e., mutual fund, managers have learned that market timing sucks.

Since in most years the market is up (but not always as new investors are learning this year ), a fully invested portfolio like a diversified mutual fund such as an S&P 500 index fund will outperform a portfolio which holds a significant percent of cash.

Also thought it had to do that the average investor buys and sells and tries to time the market when there is the stat that if you miss just a few of the best days in a year you miss out on a disproportionate share of the total gains.

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Truly, no offense is intended. But you should definitely sell any individual equity positions that you have, invest in mutual funds and never buy an individual equity again. Really. Individual stocks are not meant for everyone, and your question indicates that you shouldn't be buying them. There's nothing wrong with mutual fund investing. In fact, it usually turns out better for most people.

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No offense taken whatsoever. I’ve made nice money taking profits on construction equipment stocks recently. Did the same with Verizon. I find it fun to research and invest with a <15% of the cash I keep. I appreciate the insight, and no offense taken.

I love troubled times like these - I have bought some stocks that have been on my wish list - they should produce nicely for me over the next 15 years.

Note - I am old so I have turned to a target date mutual fund for the majority of my holding - takes some risk out of play and rebalances for me without the headache.

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Jag, maybe i dont understand your advice here. Mutual funds are a collection of individual stocks so why would an investor buying shares of an individual equity be a poor choice?

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Pretty much what others have said. Buying even four or five individual equities won't give the diversification that a broadly diversified (even within a sector) fund gives. You won't make as much off of a homerun in the fund, but if one of the stocks tanks, you won't take a crushing hit either, like you might with an individual holding.

I buy individual equities, as well as funds (ETFs and mutual funds). Over time, I'd say that fund investing has produced better, or at least more consistent, returns for me. Even though I have a (dusty) Econ degree and an MBA, I find it hard to keep up with the research that's necessary to stay on top of individual companies. Trying not to become overweight in one company or sector is also difficult. I let myself get overweight in tech this year and I've paid the price for it.

BTW, it wasn't me that down-voted your post. I felt that it was a legit question.