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Buy When Leading Stocks are On Sale


By Paul Goodwin, Cabot Analyst and Editor of Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report 2/1/08

If you’ve been really paying attention to the market, you have been heavily in cash for weeks, and the few stocks that you have left in your growth portfolio are all either sitting on fat profit cushions or are on very short leashes.

And the worse the economic chaos gets…and the lower the market goes…the better you like it.  

Because you know that riding out a bear market in cash insulates you from market losses and gives you the capital to invest when the market turns up. And the best money is made by the people who get in early in bull markets.

Think about it. When the market has been healthy for quarter after quarter and stocks have been routinely blasting out to new highs, that’s when the sheep of the investment herd get into the market. Timid investors only poke their noses out of their shells when bull markets erase their memories of previous market losses. The only problem: Chances are when that happens, the markets are getting near their top. And while the sheep who watch yesterday’s market results are opening up their piggy banks, the real investors—the ones who are looking at where the market will be in six months—are already taking a few profits and getting ready to bail out.

That’s why I say that the real hard-nosed, hard-headed investor watches market turmoil and smiles as stocks get cheaper, the bargain bins fill up and the potential leaders of the next bull market start to hang the sale signs in the window.

To get in early, you have to be prepared!

If this is what the world looks like to you, now is when you should be subscribing to the Cabot Market Letter! Because this growth stock letter is heavily in cash and is building its watch lists of stocks with great numbers and compelling stories right now!

It’s time to make the real contrarian move and start to work making money when the sheep are huddled together for comfort. It’s the genuinely smart investment move.

More Stock Investing advice:

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Cabot's Position on Shorting Stocks 1/27/10
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Why the Lost Decade is Good News for the Future 12/16/09
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Three Characteristics of Winning Investors 11/26/09
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The Three Most Important Investing Lessons 11/6/09
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Dispelling Investment Myths 10/15/09
Mike Cintolo busts five common investment myths.

A Simple Way to Assess Your Risk 10/1/09
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Three Reasons to Own Individual Stocks 6/22/09
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Guidelines on Handling Earnings Gaps 4/22/09
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How to Handle Earnings Season 4/19/09
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Three Clues to Determine the Market's Next Move 1/22/09
Here are a few clues to watch, so you can be one of the early ones on board the next move...whether it's up or down.

Advantages to Being an Individual Investor 1/12/09
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Dispelling Six Common Investing Myths 7/3/08
Avoid some of what doesn't work in the stock market and improve your returns.

Listen to Your Stocks  4/23/08
A big earnings gap lower, especially after a stock has enjoyed a huge advance, often spells the end for a stock's up cycle.

Practice Patience Early in a New Bull Market  3/29/08
Considering the risk that you might buy at a false bottom, we don't think the risk is worth the reward.

Tips on Handling Market Stress  3/15/08
Having a system will help you manage market stress especially when the market's most volatile.

How to Invest During a Recession 1/17/08
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On Improving Your Personal Side of the Investing Equation 2/25/08
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SNaC to Keep Your Portfolio in Shape 2/11/08
SNaC stands for Story, Numbers and Chart, and it's the method Paul Goodwin uses to pick stocks for the Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report.

What to do when Sellers are in Control of the Market
When the sellers remain in control, this Q&A will help you decide what to do.

Why Recession Really Doesn't Matter to Investors
Should you wait until the recession ends before you invest? No—because all stocks trade on expectations of the future.

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The best investors generally free themselves from the question of why a stock or the market is going up or down.

Keeping Your Balance during Market Turbulence
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Fundamental or Technical Analysis: The Perils of Purity
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Wise Words from Warren’s Wife: Don’t get too attached to the outcome
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A Stock, Like Love, Thrives on Romance and Dies on Statistics
If the RP line falters over a period of weeks, you’ll know the romance has ended.

Markets Are Never Wrong; Opinions Are
A rewarding strategy is to identify the current trend and stay with it as long as it persists.

Run, Sheep, Run
By watching investor sentiment and adjusting your investments accordingly, your investment results are sure to improve.


Traditional growth investors subscribe to our flagship Cabot Market Letter or Cabot Green Investor.

Aggressive investors are comfortable with the high-momentum stocks in Cabot Top Ten Weekly or the fast-growing foreign stocks in Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report.

Conservative investors follow the Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter to invest in high-quality undervalued stocks.

Long term investors find undiscovered emerging companies in Cabot Small-Cap Confidential.

If you're not sure, Cabot Stock of the Month will help you build a diversified portfolio of growth, green, momentum, international and value stocks.