Yes, patience gets tested more during bear markets.

In bull market, it seems all companies can grow their earnings and everything looks rosy and people buy more.

In bear markets, same companies have slower earnings, and people now feel that company is going bankrupt, and people dont invest at all.

This cycle continues.

I guess the trick to making money is to buy companies in bear markets that are having difficulty in earnings and then these companies shower higher earnings growth in bull markets. Seems tough, but not impossible.

"Time is the enemy of lousy business" - Warren Buffet.
So if we are holding for a longer time, we must be sure that the company holds the test of time.
I preferably don't have interests in Technology Companies because you never know what technology might perform the current one. Also the MOAT should be broader in Buffet's words.
Simple businesses with broad MOAT should do well in time even if they are bought at high's of any bull market and even if the market falls exponentially, they will eventually do good in the longer run.
But again one must have the patience.
No doubt margin of safety is very very very important but with extraordinary business you can give a little discount with this.
Thats my personal opinion.

My two cents worth, Basant.

Booking losses becomes easier if you are disciplined about setting realistic stop-losses. Though mainly used by traders, I have used it in long-term investing as well by using a larger percentage (25-30%).

The other discipline is to keep raising the stop-losses by the same percentage as the stock price rise. Easier said than done, though!

Another trick - which caps the gains but considerably reduces the downside - is to book profits partially. Of course, such strategies work best during bull markets.

Hi to all,

Sir I have a question to all..Everybody in this world gives examples of Mr warren Buffet, Peter Lynch etc..And we go ga ga over how they made so much money.

They can make a lot of money and would continue to make tons of money after all they have loads of people doing loads of research for them..so i think they would rarely go wrong..Secondly every company would give them honest facts..truthfull facts.. the inside information..whereas a small investor like me basis his opinion about a stock looking at a balance sheet(which most of them fudge) or from the newspaper, magazines, etc which mostly is what the management or a large broking house wants them to say... needless to say that the information is not entirely correct..so we buy on the hope that the company is as good as it is made out to be..

I think there is no fool proof system to judge a company.

would like to know the opinion of all about the same.

Thanks & Regards
jugs