It doesn't matter if you're a professional money manager or individual investor...

If you want your portfolio to succeed, you've got to think about a lot more than just finding investment ideas.

Sure, the good ideas matter. It's hard to create a masterpiece with only a box of broken crayons. But owning great stocks is only part of the picture.

You've also got to manage your behavior.

You can't always trust your instincts. They're often the enemy of long-term returns.

Right now, you might be falling for the three most expensive words in investing... I missed it.

Stocks have soared over the past three months. You might feel like the gains are already over. But as you'll see, that's a mistake...

The rally that's underway will continue. Let me explain...

The "I missed it" feeling starts creeping in anytime a major rally unfolds.

You start thinking about how much money you could have made... if you had bought at the beginning of the rally. And even if you did own that asset from the get-go, you feel like you should have owned more.

So you tell yourself it's too late to buy in now. Prices have already soared. You sit paralyzed, convinced that you missed it.

The situation is all too familiar. But you shouldn't fall for this way of thinking. And the run-up we just experienced proves it...

This Rare Signal Points to More Gains Ahead

You see, stocks just finished one of their most impressive three-month rallies in history. The S&P 500 Index was up 26% in the three months after its April low. And that pushed the index back to all-time highs. Take a look...

A massive short-term jump like this is a perfect breeding ground for regrets and paralysis. But according to history, you haven't missed it. There are still big gains to come.

We've only seen five other unique instances of a 26%-plus three-month rally since 1950. And in every case, stocks continued to soar. Take a look...

One of the best ways to succeed as an investor is to focus on the trend. Assets that are rising tend to keep rising. This tendency is the antithesis of "I missed it." And history shows it's about to play out once again.

Similar three-month rallies led to 8.1% gains in three months... 11.5% gains in six months... and 23.4% gains over a year. That's massive outperformance versus the typical buy-and-hold strategy. Plus, stocks were higher a year later 100% of the time.

What's more, only one of these five instances happened late in a bull market. That was in January 1999. Stocks peaked a little more than a year later.

But in the other four cases, the rally occurred near the beginning of a major bull market.

This is a powerful setup. It tells us that we haven't missed it. The gains should keep piling up from here... and stocks have the potential to keep soaring for years as the bull market continues.

It's easy to worry about missing your chance after the kind of rally we just saw. But don't fall victim to that mistake. There's still plenty of upside ahead.

Good investing,

Brett Eversole

Further Reading

Even the best strategies don't win every month. But the key to long-term investing success is knowing what works and sticking with it, even when the market is chasing flashier stories.

"Asset allocation is the only way to build long-term wealth and sleep well at night at the same time," Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig writes. It keeps you from betting too heavily on any one idea – and shields you from the kinds of losses that can derail a retirement.

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About DailyWealth

Our investment philosophy here at DailyWealth is this: Buy things of extraordinary value at a time when nobody else wants them... Then, sell when people are willing to pay any price.

You see, we believe most investors take way too much risk. So our mission at DailyWealth is to show you how to avoid risky investments – and perform better than the average investor. We believe that you can make a lot of money, safely, by doing the opposite of what is most popular.

We cover the day-to-day opportunities we see in the markets. We highlight the sectors look most promising (and the traps that are most likely to get you into trouble). And we share strategies from a range of perspectives at our firm... so you can learn how our experts view the markets, with investment wisdom that you'll use over and over again.

In a nutshell, we're committed to sharing the ideas that will help you build a lifetime of wealth. Thank you for joining us.

About the Editor
Brett Eversole
Brett Eversole
Editor

Brett Eversole joined Stansberry Research in 2010. He is the lead editor and analyst for True Wealth, True Wealth Systems, and DailyWealth.

Brett boasts a strong background in applied mathematics and statistics, with a degree in Actuarial Science. As an undergraduate, he passed the first three exams for entrance into the Society of Actuaries before focusing on finance at Stansberry Research.

He has put his analytical expertise to work in the markets for the past decade-plus. And, notably, he helped develop True Wealth Systems – one of Stansberry Research's most in-depth, data-driven products – alongside founding editor Steve Sjuggerud.

Brett takes a top-down investment approach. His first goal is spotting big macro trends in the market. These are the kinds of inescapable tailwinds you want as an investor. From there, he looks for opportunities based on valuation and overall market sentiment. Lastly, he always waits for momentum to be in his favor before investing.

This approach means Brett consistently takes a contrarian approach to investing. And combining that with data-driven analysis leads to fantastic long-term performance.

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