Market Timing: Hold
Now isn’t a good time to buy. Focus on managing your current stocks, check your stops, and hold off on new buys until it’s Safe to Buy.
“Is the HOLD Signal Always Right?”
What to know when the market says pause — and why it pays to wait.
Why You’re Asking This
You joined VectorVest for a rules-based system, one that tells you when to buy, what to buy, and when to sell.
The Hold signal is part of that system. Its purpose is simple: to protect you from buying at the wrong time.
But naturally, you might wonder:
“Is this signal always right?”
Let’s be clear.
The Honest Answer: No Signal Is Perfect
Markets shift quickly. News breaks. Emotions run high. No signal can be right every time.
What decades of testing show is this:
The Hold signal reduces bad trades
It keeps you from entering too early
It helps preserve capital during choppy, uncertain markets
It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to keep you out of trouble most of the time, and it does.
Why the Signal Exists
The Hold signal comes from years of research, analyzing price action, momentum, and market strength through every kind of market condition.
Our testing shows:
Buying during Hold phases leads to bigger drawdowns
Waiting for Safe to Buy produces ~15% average annual returns, enough to double your portfolio every five years
Even though past results don’t guarantee future gains, they give us confidence in the strength of our approach.
The Hold signal isn’t about predicting every dip. It’s about giving you a disciplined way to pause until the odds are better in your favor.
The Bigger Picture
When you implement the Successful Investing System™, you don’t just get signals. You get:
A structure that removes guesswork
Data-driven rules for making decisions
A plan for building long-term wealth with clarity and control
The Hold signal is simply the system telling you: not yet. Be patient.
Bottom Line
Is the Hold signal always right? No.
Is it right often enough to make a real difference? Yes.
When in doubt, zoom out. Trust the system.
Let the rules protect your capital, and get you ready for what’s next.