so much for buying the stock-market selloff. after global markets and s&p 500 stock futures early wednesday pointed to a rout after donald trump <u+2019>s surprise electoral victory , u.s. stocks have been on an upward trajectory as investors bet that a trump presidency could mean more fiscal stimulus and fewer regulations . on thursday, the dow jones industrial average was around record territory after a 256.95-point rally wednesday . for individual investors who have learned through the years that market dips offer a buying opportunity, this may have seemed liked a missed moment. yet even without a selloff similar to the one that happened in june after the u.k. voted to exit from the european union , the sharp upward volatility has given selective investors moments to jump in<u+2014>and they have. while financial advisers and 401(k) administrators report that the vast majority of investors have stuck to their long-term investment plans and have made no changes to their portfolios so far in the aftermath of the election, discount brokerages have seen a surge in trading activity. some investors sought to shield or position their portfolios for the change in administration while others were looking for opportunities to benefit from volatility<u+2014>and buy on pullbacks in either individual stocks or the broader market. <u+201c>volatility is an opportunity,<u+201d> said tim stickney, a portland, maine, resident, who called his investment adviser at 9 a.m. wednesday with instructions to invest $10,000 on a market dip, should one transpire in the coming days. <u+201c>i am hoping that if the market is volatile, i can buy in at a lower cost.<u+201d> mr. stickney bought on the dips amid the post-brexit selloff and within days, he says, <u+201c>the market<u+2019>s losses had been made up.<u+201d> td ameritrade , which saw trading activity on wednesday afternoon three times as high as the same period on monday, said investors flocked to stocks they believe are poised to benefit from a trump presidency. examples include stocks of health-care and financial companies , which are expected to profit from less regulation, such as valeant pharmaceuticals international inc., cvs health corp. and bank of america corp. steve quirk, executive vice president of td ameritrade<u+2019>s trader group, said individual investors have grown accustomed to trading into market volatility. <u+201c>you have this episodic volatile event driving the market down to levels investors think are attractive and they scoop up what they can,<u+201d> he said. given the <u+201c>monstrous rally<u+201d> since the financial crisis, he said, investors have learned that those <u+201c>unfortunate enough to exit a position missed a pretty big opportunity.<u+201d> marlene and david fuhrman weren<u+2019>t too concerned when they saw stock futures plunge as it became clear mr. trump was moving toward securing the presidency. the atlanta couple said the situation reminded them of brexit and they had a feeling the market would bounce back soon. when the couple woke up wednesday, they checked some of their investments on their phones. they were <u+201c>pleasantly surprised<u+201d> to see the market was up, said the 52-year-old ms. fuhrman. still other investors viewed the market<u+2019>s volatility as a chance to lock in profits amid concerns about a trump presidency. ray tillrock, 76, said he called his investment adviser midafternoon wednesday to ask her to pare his long-term positions in two stocks<u+2014> southwest airlines co. and walgreen co. <u+2014>that together comprised almost 14% of his portfolio. <u+201c>nine years ago she told me to sell those two stocks,<u+201d> said mr. tillrock, a hospital chaplain who lives in chicago. the market<u+2019>s sharp rally <u+201c>seemed like a good opportunity to rebalance my portfolio<u+201d> in order to enhance diversification, he said. now, the two stocks comprise 7.5% of mr. tillrock<u+2019>s holdings. rebalancing, he added, became <u+201c>more urgent<u+201d> in the wake of mr. trump<u+2019>s victory, which he says adds to the uncertainty facing investors.<u+00a0><u+201c>i<u+2019>m glad the market went up today so i could take advantage of that.<u+201d> meanwhile, the 35-year-old mr. stickney, a salesman for keybank, said he figures he has the time to recover from any losses he may sustain if the markets turn lower as expectations over a trump presidency recalibrate. <u+201c>my time horizon for investing is more than one presidential cycle,<u+201d> said mr. stickney, who invests in broad baskets of stocks, <u+201c>so when i see some volatility in the market, i view that as an opportunity.<u+201d> write to anne tergesen at anne.tergesen@wsj.com , michael wursthorn at michael.wursthorn@wsj.com and veronica dagher at veronica.dagher@wsj.com
mom and pop investors seize market opportunities after trump win  - wsj
anne tergesen michael wursthorn veronica dagher