[l2ridehd]

No one can beat the market using market timing. Most of those who try lose in the end. You need an investment strategy that lays out what you will do when and be very disciplined with execution.

I use an IPS (investment policy statement) that I wrote several years ago and still follow today. It lays out where all investments are located along with account numbers and passwords, how much of an emergency fund to maintain, How to tax manage, how much risk to allow, what my AA (asset allocation) will be, adjusted for age, what my international and emerging market % of total stock investments should be, when I should re-balance, what duration of bond investments I will use, targets for when to sell and when to buy, and what investment vehicles to use. As long as I follow it, it works. Having this you never have to ask is it a good time to sell or other questions that will cause you to make mistakes. A couple examples.

If the S&P falls by 10% (last 60 day high) I will move 25% of stocks to cash. Falls 20% I will move 50% to cash. I will buy again when it rises by 10% from last 60 day low and again when it rises by 20% from the low.

If stocks rise and my asset allocation shifts by 5%, I sell stocks and buy bonds. Same if stocks fall and I am off 5% in the opposite direction, I will sell bonds and buy stocks to get back to balance with my AA. This always forces you to buy low and sell high.