7 Worst Mistakes Investors Will Make in This Market

Is this the end of a seven-year bull market or the beginning of a prolonged bear market, or something in between?

Busy man analyzing company financial report balance sheet statement
(Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Is this the end of a seven-year bull market or the beginning of a prolonged bear market, or something in between? Truth is, nobody knows for sure. The vast opportunities for creating wealth by investing in equities come with plenty of risks. So take a deep breath and remember—the stock market has yielded an average 8%-10% return annually over the last 114 years. In 2013, the Dow Jones industrial average gained almost 30%. Last year, it lost 2.2%. This year has begun with frightening drops of 5%-15% in markets globally.

It’s easy for investors to compound the pain and losses in times like this. Here are the seven biggest mistakes you can make. Avoid these costly missteps and chances are you can profit handsomely for years to come, even if you are retired or approaching retirement.

Douglas Harbrecht
New Media Director, Kiplinger.com
Harbrecht joined Kiplinger in March 2006 from BusinessWeek.com, where he served as senior and executive editor. Prior to that, he worked in the Washington bureau of the magazine, now BloombergBusinessweek, covering policy, politics and economics. He holds a BA degree from Binghamton University and an MA in journalism from the University of Missouri. He was 1998 President of the National Press Club and a 2010 Kiplinger fellow in social media study at Ohio State University.