Motley Fool – First things first: I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Fool and, not coincidentally, a buy-to-hold investor who absolutely believes that the best place for long-term money is the stock market. Noother investment vehicle — not real estate, not bonds, and certainly not precious metals — offers nearly as much bang for your investment buck over the long haul.
What’s more, while the market’s up and down cycles are pretty much inevitable — not to mention fun to watch for market geeks — at the end of the day, they don’t amount to a hill of proverbial beans.
On the other hand, if you’re proactive and smart about it, you can make those cycles amount to something for your portfolio. After all, while the miracle of dividend reinvestment and compounding can help grow your stock nest egg at an impressive clip, the effect will be all the more miraculous if you play defense effectively and do a good job of preserving your principal when the market heads south.
