TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD): Now You’re Buying Stocks — Your Timing Couldn’t Be Worse

If you’re one of the investors who’s been sitting in cash or bonds for the last few years and just now wants to jump back into stocks, ask yourself two questions:

What are you going to do when the market falls again? Because it will. Unless you truly know that you’ll act differently the next time stocks plunge, reassess what you’re doing, or whether you have the temperament to be investing at all.

What are you goals? Is your goal to beat the market this month? This quarter? Over the next 10 years? Not at all? Is it to retire next year, or 30 years from now? Is it to outperform your brother-in-law? Are you doing it just for fun? Few ask themselves these questions, but how you answer them can dramatically change how you invest and think about market moves.

Investor Bill Bonner once said, “People do not get what they want or what they expect from the markets; they get what they deserve.” Keep this in mind if you’re shifting assets into the market now that stocks are at all-time highs.

The article Now You’re Buying Stocks — Your Timing Couldn’t Be Worse originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Morgan Housel has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TD Ameritrade. The Motley Fool owns shares of TD Ameritrade.

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