8 big mistakes to avoid in a falling stock market

Everyone prefers to invest in a bullish stock market. However, investing in a bearish market is seen as a challenge for investors.

Stock markets have been facing a lot of volatility these days, hence, investors should keep a check of what they do and don’t. Panic leads to hasty moves, as a result paying a hefty price. However, if one is cautious of the commonly made mistakes (listed below), it may help in reducing losses to a great extent.

1). Don’t fixate on a price: Investors tend to anchor on a price, at which they bought the stock. They should carefully analyze the reasons for the falling stock and plan their next move accordingly. They must realize that the price at which the stock is bought is not necessarily perceived as its fair value by the market.

2). Say ‘No’ to buying more to average: Even though this concept has its own benefits, keep reminding yourself that this works only if the fundamentals of the stock are strong. The method of averaging is one of the trusted techniques in stock trading.

3). Be well researched regarding the market updates: Do not ignore any significant development happening in the market based on over confidence. Be well informed and take decisions according to the market trends. Your judgement without information may not always be correct.

4). Don’t be a value picker: Buying stocks at their 52-week low may seem a good bargain, but it might turn out to be a value trap. Markets can be unreasonable for longer periods of time than one can think of.

5). Do not make leveraged bets:  Leverage requires that the investment should earn a return, which is at least equivalent to the interest paid on the borrowed capital (if you have borrowed). However, in case of market dips, it can accrue huge losses too.
There’s a high degree of uncertainty involved in the stock market, which can drive the trends either ways – it can bring panic if one is risking the money that they cannot afford to lose. Alternatively, it can force one to close their positions by limiting their options, if they are buying on margin.

6). Don’t alter your financial plans: It is a human tendency to panic and react frantically in the state of stress. Don’t change your investment decisions and existing portfolios based on the current market trends. Keep a clear sight of your asset allocation.

7). Do not stop your Systematic Investment Plans: One should not stop their SIPs during a bear market. The primary purpose of SIP is to encourage buying more units at lower prices and reaping benefits when the market rebounds. Stopping SIPs at that point interrupts the compounding benefit of equities and affect the long term goals.

8). Do not over diversify your portfolio – One should not over diversify his portfolio that too in multiple companies of the same sector. Though this might help one to limit their downside to an extent, but won’t be of much help in the long run. Diversification beyond a point leads to greater risks, and it becomes difficult to monitor the stocks.