I understand "you can't time the market" for the most part, but here's what I dont understand..
I invest my Roth IRA in VTSAX (Admiral Stock Index through Vanguard) since I know in the long term it will trend upwards, and history shows that there's something like a 8% return over a long period of time even after big ups and downs.
This past year I had a 26% increase - WOW! Just a good year for the market I guess.
You can't time the market, so keep your money there... But history shows a 8% gain over time, and I've gained 26% in a single year. Safe to say that this will average out over the next several years with there being losses or very very small gains to average back to 8%?
I'm not planning on moving my money because I'm sure there's a logical answer to my above question, I just dont know what that answer is. The alternative would be to move money from stock index to a bond index until the market takes a hit and then move back. Clearly this is timing the market, but why not do this in this situation?