For several years, lots of investors and pundits have been predicting a stock <a href="https://bitcomme.com/3-artificial-intelligence-ai-stocks-id-buy-without-hesitation-in-a-market-crash/" title="3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks I’d Buy Without Hesitation in a <a href="https://bitcomme.com/warren-buffetts-top-advice-for-investors-bracing-for-a-market-crash-2/" title="Warren Buffett's Top Advice for Investors Bracing for a Market Crash“>Market Crash“>market crash. AI valuations, among others, have looked dizzying. There has been a disconnection between the exuberance of the stock market and the outlook for much of the real-life economy.
This week has been a frantic and action-packed one in the stock market, especially Stateside and with massive negative impact on tech stocks.
So is the stock market crash finally here?
It’s coming! But when?
Formally the answer is… not yet. A crash involves a fall of 20% or more in a short order of time. We have not reached that point.
However, that does not mean that the crash may not have already started. It could be that, if things continue as they have done in recent days, the cumulative losses hit 20%. We may look back in retrospect and say that this week marked the start of the crash.
Or we may not. Falling markets often bring out bargain hunters who want to scoop up shares at lower prices than before. That can help stabilise prices and restore confidence.
Still, the truth is that many market valuations look unsustainable to me.
Like everybody else though, I cannot know for sure when the stock market crash will next crash.
But I have been busy this week trying to get my portfolio in order for a period of turbulence, whether or not that turns into a full-blown crash.
Here’s my practical action list
So what have I been doing? I took advantage of strong price gains to sell some shares. Crocs shares are up 78% so far this year after a strong run in recent weeks, so I sold the last of my holding.
In other positions, I sold some shares to bank some profits while hanging onto some too. JD Sports is an example. Up 18% over the past month ahead of a trading statement later this month, I sold some of my shareholding to take money off the table.
If the crash does come, I want to have plenty of liquidity to snap up bargains. So I have been selling some shares and keeping the proceeds in cash. This week, I sold the last of my easyJet shares, rather than waiting for the takeover deal to finally conclude months down the line.
In rocky markets, cash is king.
I’ve been buying too
But as well as making a list of shares I hope will turn out to be bargains in the next crash that I might use that cash on, I have still been looking for bargains in this market.
This week, for example, I added a new share to my portfolio: US food giant General Mills (LSE: GIS). With a market capitalisation below $20bn, I think the owner of famous brands including Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and Nature Valley looks cheap. Its share price has fallen 42% in five years.
