The long haul

No, I am not oblivious to the turmoil the markets now endure. Yes, I see the ugly gap down openings set to occur today. It is difficult to get worked up into a lather, however, when the investor expected the turmoil; morever, it also is difficult to get worked up when that same investor, who has a keen sense of historical perspective, recognizes that, though the specifics are each time different, they always work out the same. This too shall pass.

So I keep my (gimlet) eye on the (money-making) ball; the profits machine. Having reduced weeks ago to my Core Opportunities, I of course ask myself, "Will this spot of market difficulty infect my portfolio for more than several weeks to a few months? More telling, perhaps: Will the worries of investors ("SELL!") translate to problems in company fundamentals (worries about consumer retrenchment, etc)?"

Of course, I am not happy to lose profits. Of course, I would prefer that contagions in the market not affect my favored opportunities. But without declines such as the one now extant, I would have no method to measure the best of the best, the crème de la crème. The 9 Core Opportunities.

And to make money over the long haul, aka my time frame.
--David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist