When should I get back into the stock market, and with what?

I pulled a lot of money out of my 401k rollover prior to the summer and put it into cash, which was a good thing since the market plummeted. However, I'm wondering if today's news is the beginning of a bull market or just a blip, and if I should continue to keep that money in cash for awhile. Any stock/fund/ETF recommendations? (I know this is a funny place to ask, but I would love to see if there are any experts out there!)

Well..most of you have proved it...don't look to Yahoo Answers folks to understand the market..lol! I was asking for interesting fund recommendations. To the bozo out there who thinks I actually took money out of the account...read the question again...I merely moved some of it to a money market fund within the account (at a 5% interest rate)...that way if the market continued to plummet I would have some price protection, and the only disadvantage being I might make 5% for awhile instead of more...sort of a win win. (BTW, I am a Penn MBA who completely understands basic financial concepts...and we all "time the market" so to speak every time we shift funds from one ETF or mutual fund to another...or do you guys just leave your money in the same fund for 40 years?) Oh...and to the other Einstein...the Dow Jones only represents the U.S. Market. I'm 40% internationnaly invested. Again, looking for interesting fund recommedations. Okay, back to Morningstar for me!

Hello,

As it turns out, you made a good move by taking money out of the market, but you may have made a bad move by not putting the money back sooner.

Market timing when the broad market, as defined by the S&P 500, is neither significantly over valued or under valued is risky. One news item does not create a bull or a bear market. The average person should invest based on his or her investment objectives and not be overly concerned about the daily flucuations in the stock market.

No one knows with any certainty where the market will go from here, so short term predictions have very little value. The market may be vulnerable to a short term correction due to the recent run up, but it is impossible to say, if that will occur, when it occur or what the decline will be.

I hope this helps.

Michael Weiss
The Editor
The Mutual Fund Investor
http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net

You are a "market timer," you get out when you think the market is going to go down, then get back in later. Studies have shown that most market timers do worse than people who buy and hold.
If you got out on June 1 or before, you missed the big drop, but you also missed the big run back up. The Dow Jones is now HIGHER than it was on June 1.
I don't think you are a good market timer. I suggest you buy back in and STAY in. Stop market timing. You are not good at it. Most experts say not to market time.

When I was younger, I tried timing the market. It usually went up when I thought it would go down.

Individuals who market time will lose most of the time and that is what you are doing right now. You are better off finding an honest and experienced financial professional to help you diversify your investment to your objective. If you don't want to take that much risk and be subjected to the volatility of the market then diversify more toward the fixed income investments. These are all things that the average Joe thinks they know how to do but in reality does not. Financial professionals will help you work through what you want to accomplish and the best way to get there. Remember to do your homework on the person you choose. Ask for at least three references and if the person tries to side step that they are not the one for you. There is so much more but in reality the only thing you need to know is to never get out of the market, just take less risk the closer you are to needing the money.

You're scared! You need to educate yourself before you do anything, even if it means putting your money under your mattress. If you want your money to work for you rather than accompany you on vacation (some of which will not return), you need to take control over your own finances. Visit http://www.investools.com Investools will teach you how to make money in ANY market condition! Up, down, or sideways, you can still make money in the stock market.

Pulling out your money was dumb. You'll now pay a 10% penalty plus 28% income taxes. Besides, the S&P is only down 3% from its high. Always invest for the long term.