While I too believe that nobody can consistently ‘time’ the markets, I also think if you listen to the message of the markets you can determine if you should have an aggressive investment strategy, or a not so aggressive strategy. – Jeff Saut
I write a fair amount about “market timing,” basically my thoughts on whether the stock market generally presents investors with an attractive opportunity or not. In fact, this is probably the one area I get asked about the most from individual investors.
For the record, I agree completely with what Jeff says above. I’m not trying to time the market so much as determine when I should be more aggressive or more cautious based on a variety of meaningful indicators.
How this applies to individual investors is entirely up to them. Everyone has a unique risk tolerance and individual investment goals. What’s “aggressive” or “conservative” for you is something only you (and perhaps your adviser) can determine.