• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing

Fear of Missing Out Is the Main Driving Force in This Market

Stick to your methodology and don't let worry of underperformance push you to shift your approach.
By JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE
Jan 31, 2019 | 01:10 PM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: FB, SRPT, APHA, PYX, HLF, MRNA

The most powerful force in the market is fear. When fear of losing takes hold it creates powerful downside momentum and when fear of missing out (FOMO) takes hold it creates powerful upside. The recent market action is ideal for creating fear of missing out.

The indices have gone almost straight up so far this year and there are very few money managers that have been able to keep pace with their benchmark indices. The only way that you can outperform in this environment is to be fully invested and holding higher beta names (stocks that move faster than the indices).

The nature of money managers is that they don't look to make up underperformance by waiting for the market to reverse. They make up performance by chasing stocks that they hope will move up faster than the overall market. Today one of those stocks is Facebook (FB) .

Fear of missing out also drives aggressive dip buying. Many market players dislike chasing strength but they will buy very minor pullbacks instead. This is why uptrending markets can be so sticky to the upside. Strong markets don't just suddenly fall apart.

I'm disappointed that I am not more heavily invested but I'm not worried about missing out on gains. If the market continues to hold up more charts will develop and there will be plenty of opportunities. My methodology is to take some partial profits in stocks that have made good size moves recently like Sarepta (SRPT) , Aphria (APHA) and Pyxus (PYX) .

On the other hand, there are still charts that are developing well and may offer good entry points like Herbalife (HLF) and Moderna (MRNA) .

The Fear of Missing Out is the main driving force in this market but that doesn't mean that we have to embrace that emotion ourselves. Stick to your methodology and don't let worry of underperformance push you to shift your approach.

(Facebook is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells FB? Learn more now.)

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

At the time of publication, James DePorre was Long SRPT, APHA, PYX, HLF.

TAGS: Earnings | Investing | Markets | Stocks | Trading

More from Investing

I Got the 'SOS', So Here's My Take on the Stock's Saga

Timothy Collins
Feb 28, 2021 6:35 PM EST

Let's try to sort out the details of the complicated story of SOS Ltd. -- and why the short reports might be ... selling you short.

Bearish Bets: 2 Nasdaq Stocks You Should Consider Shorting This Week

Bob Lang
Feb 28, 2021 10:30 AM EST

These names are displaying both quantitative and technical deterioration.

Jim Cramer: What History Tells Us About Bond-Rate Scares Like This

Jim Cramer
Feb 27, 2021 2:01 PM EST

We could have some real pain ahead for some stocks. Five different kinds.

What's Next for Bonds, TLT and Interest Rates?

Bruce Kamich
Feb 27, 2021 12:30 PM EST

Thoughts and observations on Treasuries and the direction of interest rates.

Navigating a Market Correction

James "Rev Shark" DePorre
Feb 27, 2021 10:00 AM EST

The most critical factor in long-term market success is the ability to effectively navigate market corrections.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 11:51 AM EST REAL MONEY

    Watch Bob Lang and Doug Kass Discuss Short-Selling!

    Bob Lang and Doug Kass with an engaging and educat...
  • 11:32 AM EST JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    Navigating a Market Correction
  • 11:29 AM EST GARY BERMAN

    Where Does the Nasdaq Go From Here?

    Where does the Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) index go fr...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login