Safety on the sidelines

Trend trading implies waiting for the market to signal entry. When a trend is identified and supporting technical triggers are met the investor exposes capital to the market. When the market turns south this strategy sends the investor to the sidelines. Stock Trends TSX Portfolio has been on the sideline for much of the past year. The number of trades over the past 12-months is about a half of its annual average - its recent dormancy an indictment of the weak foundation of the market. During the period the TSX at times outperformed the return on investment of the ST TSX Portfolio. But now that the bear has a stranglehold on the market the divergence of returns falls in ST Portfolio's favour. The S&P/TSX Composite is now down almost 30% over the past 12-months: the Stock Trends TSX Portfolio one-year return on investment is -14.5%