Did last week's rise in the market catch you by surprise?
Dang! You missed it again! You did, didn't you? Admit it.
The FTSE 100 plunged from 5,825 in mid-April to just 4,805 in early July, a drop of more than 1,000 points, or 17.5%, and you didn't fill your boots.
And I know why. You were too nervous. Too demoralised. You head was so full of double dip and second credit crunch, eurozone troubles and China property woes, that you missed the buying opportunity of the year so far (just like you missed the March 2009 low).
You were so busy counting down to 4,500, 4,000, 3,500 that you forgot that markets can move upwards as well.
What were you thinking of? Was all Bruce Jackson's hard work in vain? Oh, how you mocked when he said just over a week ago that this is The Buying Moment You've Been Waiting For. Who's laughing now?
Muscle power
The FTSE 100 has just enjoyed its best week of the year, rising a beefy 6.1%, led by buoyant miners and a banking bounce back. Barclays (LSE: BARC), Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) put on some much-needed muscle. Even insurers Aviva (LSE: AV) and Prudential (LSE: PRU) started toning up for the first time in, ooh... forever.
And while they were putting in the hours at the gym, you were waiting for the stock market to kick more sand in their faces. I have to admit I was as well.
Are you suddenly looking at all the stock you should have bought last week and wished you'd been a bit bolder? Don't worry, you're not alone.
The market Gods are laughing
You see how markets work, don't you? They mock us. Make fun of us, lure us in with promises of wealth, then blow us away with a banking crisis or oil pipe leak. Then just as we're staring into the pit of despair, they tease us with a surprise recovery that nobody expected (except maybe Bruce).
As Shakespeare nearly wrote: "As flies to wanton boys are we to the markets, they toy with us for their sport." How true, and we fall for it every time. We become greedy when others are greedy, and fearful when they are fearful, however much we try to do the opposite. It's our nature.
Cashed out
I was sorely tempted when the FTSE 100 hits 4,800, but two things stopped me.
First, a failure to shake off the wider communal dread. I was fearful too! And second, I had spent heavily at the start of the year, and my cash reserves were mostly used up. That's another way markets toy with you.
I'm not completely spent as I have a little cash waiting in the wings. And when I look at my watchlist, I can still see some nice opportunities out there.
Not every company has risen equally over the last week. Translation company RWS Holdings (LSE: RWS), which I sold several months back, stayed flat throughout at 265p, so that is one opportunity I haven't missed. Stockbroker Charles Stanley (LSE: CAY), which recently I sold at 230p is at the very handsome price of 200p.
Market don't rise uniformly across every stock, so maybe you haven't missed out after all.
It ain't over yet
And here's another reason why you shouldn't worry TOO much about missing last week's recovery. The global economic crisis ain't over yet. All that sovereign debt hasn't been miraculously paid off in the past week. The Chinese property market hasn't engineered a soft landing. The age of austerity hasn't been cancelled. The bears haven't packed up and gone home.
You may have missed out in recent weeks, but don't panic. When you're a long-term investor, time is on your side -- you'll have plenty more chances to buy great shares at attractive prices.
Finally, an apology. This article has made the rash assumption that you all missed last week's great buying opportunity. If you snapped up some bargains, feel free to toy with me for your sport in the space below.
More from Harvey Jones:
> Harvey holds shares in Aviva, Barclays, Lloyds, Prudential and RBS
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