What is Your Portfolio’s Timeline?

If you have set a goal for your portfolio, then there might be a timeline associated with it. For example, if the money is to fund college tuition, how soon will drawdowns occur? If it’s for a down payment on a child’s first home, when will the money be needed?. If it’s an additional retirement fund, when do you expect to begin drawing?

If You Don’t Know Where You’re going, any Map will get you there.

Be sure to align stock selection with your timeline, especially if the funds will be needed in less than a year. If you’re close to needing the money and you have some additional funds to put in, then this may be the time to buy Treasury Bonds. If you have some time to stay invested, then pick the same kind of stock you’ve been buying.

Never just guess or buy the “stock of the day” based on some commentator on CNBC. Always do research. We hope that you will have the stock for five years or more to prove itself.

Buy Chunks of a Stock regularly.

Suppose you have determined that Broadcom [AVGO] has a bright future. It has had a terrific past, but it sells for about $350 as we write this on October 13, 2025. Over the last five years, it has been a 10-bagger [a Wall Street term for a stock that has increased by more than 10 times its purchase price]. Assume it will continue to outperform. Plan to buy 1 or 2 shares each year, or more. But make it a regular event regardless of the market. Maybe plan to make the purchase every year on your mother’s birthday. Then, at five years, you can continue doing this or stop and hold. 

What this avoids is fear- and panic-driven selling for the wrong reasons. On Friday, October 10, 2025, the market averages fell after the President threatened to raise tariffs on China. Broadcom stock dropped over 6% that day but sprang back on Monday, October 13, after the President moderated his threats on China tariffs. 

Ignore the Market—Play by Your Rules

If it wasn't a sell date on your timeline, ignore whatever price swings your stocks exhibited. Following the China tariff increase, the stock market recovered on Monday. Play your game, not their game, we say in the book. Keep your eye on the prize and on your actions. Not how others are reacting.