Extreme Greed And Extreme Fear

Just one year ago, investor sentiment was at ‘Extreme Fear’ according to CNN’s Fear & Greed Index. Today, it is clocking in at ‘Extreme Greed.’

The one year performance of the S&P 500, from December 20th, 2018, to today, December 21st, 2019, is a positive 37.01%. On December 20th, 2018, we published a blog post titled, “Panic Arrives.” The first line of that post reads, “Call us crazy, but we’re buying.”

We ended that very post with the following reminder:

Recall one of Warren Buffett's most famous investment sayings: “Be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy.” Or the late great global investor John Templeton, “The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”

There is nothing wrong with locking in some profits here. We certainly are.

Nothing herein is intended to be investment advice. Investment in the stock market involves risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. The content contained in this article represents only the opinions and viewpoints of the Interlaken Advisors editorial staff.