I have always had some portion of my investments long the market since the mid-90’s. (I also have had continuous holding of real estate and cash since then.) I try to reduce my risk by putting significant portions into cash or other investments from time to time. Over the last year I have been increasing my cash position from about 5% to about 35%, anticipating buying opportunities in the stock market this fall (and making sure I have enough cash cushion to soften the real estate blow).
Re: Stock fundamentals: The S&P 500 stocks show a year-over-year double-digit increase in earnings for the past 12 quarters. If the the current earnings season holds form, then it will be 13 straight quarters of double-digit earnings increases.
