Regular readers know that I've been holding the Canadian Endeavour Fund for some time. It had been my largest single holding. Since the last big dip in March, 2009 this Canadian large cap fund has made significant gains and contributed greatly to my overall recovery.
One day last fall I realized that the unit price had risen to the highest level since I initially bought in. Whenever something reaches a new high (for me) there's always a temptation to take the money off the table for fear that it will soon drop and may take forever to come back. Such a decision can't be taken lightly with your largest single holding. Questions. Will I miss further upside if I cash out? Might I lock in the gains and avoid a huge loss if the bottom falls out?
The day it caught my attention the units were at a new high and I figured I'd be real happy to cash out at this level and put the money into a bond or money market fund to avoid further volatility. Remember, my exit strategy calls for me to be out of the markets in advance of my next retirement date as mentioned in Who Should(n't) Be In Funds?
Well, you know what happened to the Endeavour Fund units. They pretty much followed along with the TSX. Up, up and away! Each week the unit price reached a new high. After each new high the price would fall back a tick or two. Each week I'd tell myself that I should have bailed (FEAR). Each week I'd remind myself how much money I gained since that day last fall when I realized that this fund was smokin' (GREED).
As reported on May 5, I tried to cash in some chips...but when I finally made the decision I missed the boat as finance guy was away and didn't think to put an out-of-office notifier on his email account. I know full well that a mutual fund dealer is not like a stock broker in terms of always being able to make contact but I don't think it's too much to ask that finance guy make provision to let clients know when he's not available.
Over the next couple of days finance guy and I were in a bit of a p!$$!ng contest as I noted that I was out several thousand dollars because the fund switch was not completed on Monday, May 2 as requested. Little did I know that finance guy processed the switch on Wednesday, May 4 even though I think I'd made it clear that my window of opportunity had passed on Monday and I planned to wait until the Endeavour Fund units recovered to that same level. I only discovered this when I logged into my account with the fund company a few days later.
So, my fund switch was completed albeit a couple of days late and at great cost as the Endeavour Fund units had gone down and the Bond Fund units had gone up. So, even though it didn't go exactly as planned, I did indeed Sell in May and Go Away. I'll continue to monitor the markets as I'm keeping my trading account and watching for opportunities to make a few changes like getting out of Cisco (CSCO:NY) which is my worst dog at the moment.
We're settling into our new life in Carman, Manitoba and I'm enjoying Bloggin' By The Boyne.
One day last fall I realized that the unit price had risen to the highest level since I initially bought in. Whenever something reaches a new high (for me) there's always a temptation to take the money off the table for fear that it will soon drop and may take forever to come back. Such a decision can't be taken lightly with your largest single holding. Questions. Will I miss further upside if I cash out? Might I lock in the gains and avoid a huge loss if the bottom falls out?
The day it caught my attention the units were at a new high and I figured I'd be real happy to cash out at this level and put the money into a bond or money market fund to avoid further volatility. Remember, my exit strategy calls for me to be out of the markets in advance of my next retirement date as mentioned in Who Should(n't) Be In Funds?
Well, you know what happened to the Endeavour Fund units. They pretty much followed along with the TSX. Up, up and away! Each week the unit price reached a new high. After each new high the price would fall back a tick or two. Each week I'd tell myself that I should have bailed (FEAR). Each week I'd remind myself how much money I gained since that day last fall when I realized that this fund was smokin' (GREED).
As reported on May 5, I tried to cash in some chips...but when I finally made the decision I missed the boat as finance guy was away and didn't think to put an out-of-office notifier on his email account. I know full well that a mutual fund dealer is not like a stock broker in terms of always being able to make contact but I don't think it's too much to ask that finance guy make provision to let clients know when he's not available.
Over the next couple of days finance guy and I were in a bit of a p!$$!ng contest as I noted that I was out several thousand dollars because the fund switch was not completed on Monday, May 2 as requested. Little did I know that finance guy processed the switch on Wednesday, May 4 even though I think I'd made it clear that my window of opportunity had passed on Monday and I planned to wait until the Endeavour Fund units recovered to that same level. I only discovered this when I logged into my account with the fund company a few days later.
So, my fund switch was completed albeit a couple of days late and at great cost as the Endeavour Fund units had gone down and the Bond Fund units had gone up. So, even though it didn't go exactly as planned, I did indeed Sell in May and Go Away. I'll continue to monitor the markets as I'm keeping my trading account and watching for opportunities to make a few changes like getting out of Cisco (CSCO:NY) which is my worst dog at the moment.
We're settling into our new life in Carman, Manitoba and I'm enjoying Bloggin' By The Boyne.
Good Luck and Happy Investing!
No comments:
Post a Comment