Cash will always prove to be valuable on occasion, but over a period of twenty to thirty years, the drag on portfolio performance from holding cash will be much more significant than the few occasional benefits one would get from taking advantage of any periodic downturn with “dry powder.” John Templeton’s saying on the subject of “when to invest” is one of my favorites: “The best time to invest is when you have money. This is because history suggests it is not timing which matters, but time.”
