The holiday season is already here and it’s time to think about celebrating. And by “celebrate,” we mean “take stock of how much your portfolio has done for the year.” As can be expected, Black Friday in recent years has become a day for celebrating investments: That is, if you’re one of the lucky few who has an investment account worth more than $100,000 or so. The rest of us, unfortunately, are forced to put away our tailgate pails and drywall sets. Since many investment firms don’t open for business until next Monday or Tuesday, most of us will have to continue to cross our fingers and hope for the best. Otherwise, we’ll be as scared as we were when we were kids.
Luckily, because this holiday means some trading activity is temporarily disabled for that weekend, we can focus more closely on things that actually matter to you. Like how your portfolio did this year.
The six key holiday trading days of 2018
November 28 – Today (next Tuesday) November 28 – Friday December 1 December 14 – Friday December 28 December 29 – Monday January 7 Next Monday.
Yes, Friday is actually the last day that we can use to review investments and see how the year has gone. So don’t get so wrapped up in the daily financial news and get caught up in all the quarterbacking going on in the stock market that you miss out on the day we celebrate.
Many factors can affect the performance of an investment. For example, sometimes it’s the CEO’s decision to retire or you make a bad investment decision. (Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that’s the primary cause of market declines. There are plenty of other factors that play a part in financial matters.)
Still, the ability to analyze past performance and identify patterns can help you plan for the future. If you’ve been into this mode for a while now, you might find that you can draw some useful conclusions based on past performance. As you review your investments, be sure to look at the numbers in a historical context and you’ll be better able to evaluate whether your portfolio is heading in the right direction. If anything, being able to evaluate performance with past years in mind is an important way to ensure you’re getting the best return on your investment and are taking advantage of available opportunities to add to the investment.
So even though you’re likely to see more Black Friday shopping and a lot more pushing and shoving this weekend, you might be able to take time away from the crowded crowds to get your investing worked on.
The original article can be found at MoneyBlueBook.com:
How long will 2018’s holiday trading be suspended?