Bottom-fishing and the retail investor

An investor gazing at stock prices displayed in the trading gallery of RHB Investment Bank Bhd. Data shows that many retail investors are entering the equity market now. — Bloomberg filepic

OVER the past few weeks, it has become evident that more retail investors are putting their money into the market, hoping to bottom-fish for some good stocks while prices are still depressed.

This is perhaps in line with Warren Buffett’s philosophy – “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful”, which essentially means investors should be prepared to invest when the market is down and to “get out” in a soaring market.