Because the stock market is a result of company earnings and forecasts, investor psychology, and the institutional house’s ability to move markets in a particular direction with enormous positions, the stock market cannot be predicted accurately. You may be lucky and make an accurate prediction once in a while, but you can also hit black jack at any table in Las Vegas. Trying to time the market is a loser’s game, and for the long term investor it should be an irrelevant concept. As an investor your focus should be to regularly invest in a well diversified portfolio. By regularly investing you take advantage of the market fluctuations by buying more shares when the market goes down, and being a part of the winning crowd when it reverses. This is known as, “dollar cost averaging.” Market timing does not have a place in the wealth equation. The only thing worth timing is to be in the stock market, because over time history proves that it will only go up. That’s the only way to outsmart the market.