When do you buy an investment?

Question

When do you buy an investment? Let's say you just put some money into your IRA/Roth IRA for the year. Do you just do a market order to buy or a limit order for good price or what? I'm not exactly new to investing but sometimes I'm afraid to wait for a good price because I don't want to miss my chance and get an even worse price.

Answer 1

I buy in thirds. I buy now then a little later and later still. That way I can convince myself I am never wrong. LOLOL.

If it goes up then I made money on my recent purchase. If it goes down I am averaging down and I was smart not buying it all at once and getting it cheaper still.

Being an "investor" with a little longer term horizon, I don't buy unless I am convinced it will be higher next year.

That way the short term ups and downs and the exact buy price mean less and I don't worry too much about it.

I watch the overall market and the state of the economy for my investment choices. The bigger picture serves me better than trying to pick a bottom or top on a single stock.

And as somebody said:

"I will let others shoot for the last 10% at the top or the last 10% at the bottom. I am happy with the 80% of the profit in the middle."

Answer 2

You are buying stocks within an IRA?  The only way to do that is with a self-directed brokerage IRA.

Answer 3

I always use a limit order to get the price that I want since I do not watch the stock market minute to minute.  Also, I have recently learned about stop orders that perform upon reaching a certain floor price.

Answer 4

I would seek a professional advisor with 10+ years of market experience to help you.

You can buy or sell anytime in the IRA/Roth.

Depending on your time horizon, investment goals, and risk tolerance, when and what to buy is a deeper question.

Generally I use limit orders when I sell a stock. If you have instant execution for large cap stocks then market orders are prob ok, except in fast markets.  When buying or selling options, I always use limit orders.

If you are looking 10+ years down the line, it doesn't matter if you paid a couple bucks too much if you have a quality company.