What if you had missed the market's worst days?

It’s probably the least of all our worries and this is written without the expectation of any sympathy but it’s not easy putting a weekly magazine together in the Trump 2.0 era.
No sooner had we put last week’s issue to bed then the US administration announced a 90-day delay on most of its reciprocal tariffs (9 April). In truth, we stand by the messages we put out about staying the course and sticking with your long-term investment plan. Nothing which has emerged has altered our thinking here.
After all, there could be few better arguments for time in the market rather than timing the market given anyone selling in the wake of ‘Liberation Day’ and before President Trump hit pause would have missed out an all-timer of a day for the markets.
Our reference to research from BlackRock detailing the impact of missing the market’s best days prompted some interesting reader correspondence on what the effect would be of missing the market’s worst days.
We managed to dig out some (somewhat dated) research which reveals the answer and the impact would indeed be highly dramatic.
However, the sheer nerve and foresight required to achieve this level of market timing would be beyond most of us mere mortals. If you could execute such a strategy, good luck to you and you would certainly be well rewarded. Unlike staying invested, which doesn’t require you to do anything, you would have to be extremely agile to achieve this feat given the proximity of the best and worst days.
For the vast majority of us, accepting that the rough comes with the smooth and allowing time to be our friend is probably a better policy. For those of you where time is not on your side because retirement is in view, Sabuhi Gard’s article offers some insights.
After the initial sharp relief rally, volatility has returned with the latest bout of uncertainty now relating to just how long a potentially significant tariff exemption for tech like smartphones and laptops might last.
We examine the latest market moves in more detail in this week’s news section. As we discuss in our main feature this week, gold continues to shine allowing gold bugs to dream of the precious metal hitting the $4,000 level.
Important information:
These articles are provided by Shares magazine which is published by AJ Bell Media, a part of AJ Bell. Shares is not written by AJ Bell.
Shares is provided for your general information and use and is not a personal recommendation to invest. It is not intended to be relied upon by you in making or not making any investment decisions. The investments referred to in these articles will not be suitable for all investors. If in doubt please seek appropriate independent financial advice.
Investors acting on the information in these articles do so at their own risk and AJ Bell Media and its staff do not accept liability for losses suffered by investors as a result of their investment decisions.
Issue contents
Editor's View
Feature
Great Ideas
News
- Housing services provider Mears hits five-year high on ’beat-and-raise’
- Weak US market and operational difficulties sink TT Electronics stock
- Tesco shares drop on fears it will launch ‘price war’ to raise market share
- Can Relx maintain its strong performance in the first quarter?
- Is this the end of the road for Tesla bulls?
- After discovery bright spot for BP what next for UK energy giants?
- Markets recover some poise after tariff U-turn