International Markets On Sale
In case you haven’t noticed, international markets are having a good summer sale right now. In just three months, Vanguard FTSE All World ex US Index Fund (VFWIX or VEU) is down 20% while the S&P 500 is only down by 11%.
The sale on emerging markets is even better. Vanguard Emerging Markets Index Fund (VEIEX or VWO) is marked down by 24% in the last 3 months.
As usual, because I’m now low on international funds, I got myself some good treats from this sale. I hope there are bigger sales in the fall and the Christmas shopping season.
Software picked, likely related posts:
- Subprime Induced Correction Is Over
- Restricted Stock Units (RSU) Tax Withholding Choices
- Book Review: The Little Book of Value Investing
Comments
3 Comments on International Markets On Sale
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arvind on August 20, 2008 |
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indexfundfan on August 20, 2008 |
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The fall in EAFE has kept me busy with tax-loss harvesting. I now have enough losses to offset my income for the next several years (assuming I do not have capital gains). This is one ‘benefit’ of a bear market. LOL.
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TFB on August 20, 2008 |
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arvind – I don’t know where the market is going. I don’t subscribe to any “system” which attempts to forecast where the market is going either. Because I have to buy something, I buy whatever I’m low on. See previous post Rebalance With New Cash.
indexfundfan – If only they remove that $3,000/year limit on income offset!
Tell me what you're thinking, but please don't spam. See comments moderation policy.


But is the logic “The market will eventually have to come back up” always a good one? For instance, that logic would have backfired if we had bet on Nasdaq when it was down 20% from its late 90s highs or on Asian markets when they started to go down and eventually crashed.
I am wondering if something like the “Matt Blackman” trading strategy should be used to see if indeed there is a high probability the market will eventuall come back up?
The strategy specified in Wikipedia is “Matt Blackman has examined a trading strategy using P/E ratio involving staying out of the market when P/E’s 2 year SMA falls below 5 year SMA. It resulted in capturing 91% of the gain by staying in the market for only 42% of the time.”