Trustnet Magazine 77 October 2021 | Page 8

COVER STORY Market c

The five-minute warning

Most investors who failed to buy into the market towards the end of March last year would have felt like kicking themselves a matter of weeks later , as the MSCI World index quickly rebounded , surpassing its pre-crash level in little over two months . Yet despite their regrets , most investors also recognise the unique conditions that caused the slump of last spring mean that it shouldn ’ t be used as a blueprint for how to approach future crashes . So what should they do ? According to James Penny , chief investment officer at TAM Asset Management , there is no one-size-fitsall checklist for approaching a sell-off .

“ It is ver engage in a reaction and you see share Instead , you s deep breath a long-term

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Head of investment
However , Nicholas Hornby , founding partner at Cerno Capital , says that one rule of thumb that applies to all major slumps is that by the time the market has crashed , it is too late to sell . This is a point echoed by Laith Khalaf , head of investment analysis at AJ Bell . “ When markets crash , investors should do as little as possible ,” he says . “ It is very easy to engage in a knee-
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