Wednesday January 18. I believe for me right now the best investment strategy is not to try to "beat the market" but more to try to make small, incremental improvements

Wednesday January 18. I believe for me right now the best investment strategy is not to try to "beat the market" but more to try to make small, incremental improvements in some things. The market is up today to its highest levels in a long time. So what I am doing is selling stocks but in mutual funds. The advantage for me of having the stocks in a mutual fund is, of course, management and diversification, but also that I can trade in the mutual funds all I want for free, that is, there are no trading commissions or fees. So I am still selling off stocks that have under-performed for ten years. I am still buying bonds, but I am also just selling and accumulating cash for the next market downturn. The market may be trending up with the improvement in the economy, but investors are still very skittish and panic easily, and there will still most certainly be periodic little panics. It would be nice to be able to buy, even if it is just bonds, in those downturns. There will be more downturns, panics, market corrections. That is one thing you can bet on with almost what amounts to certainty. Why not have a little cash set aside to take advantage of the? Or look at it this way: if there is anything you want to buy, why not buy it at the best price? I can't argue with that logic. So, rather than try to dispense investment advice, I just share with you what I am doing. That would be my best advice for anyone, because I am doing it myself. And, of course, everyone's circumstances are different. Investments must be personalized: what is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. Good luck? Or should we say, "Luck comes to those who persist in working hard"?  One thought that keeps running through my minds is this: If I can purchase a bond mutual fund that is yielding 6% right now, do I really want to try to buy a stocks that might or might not yield more? And my answer is: Well I have tried that before and did not like my results. Plus the economy is so weak. I think I am better off with the bonds, and they put cash in my pocket at the end of every month.  And by generating extra income, I am running a nice surplus that I could reinvest in stocks if I wanted to.