I’ve own a few stocks and, right now, I’m sweating. If you own any stocks, even through mutual funds or retirement plans, you know the feeling. Basically every industry is feeling some pain now. As an investor, it’s pretty typical these days to be wondering if it’s time to get off the stock market roller coaster: sell, even at a loss, and put your money into something safer.

But is it really time to sell off your stocks?

The ideal way to invest in stocks is to buy low and sell high. That rule is based on the fact that stock prices fluctuate. They don’t grow steadily — if they did, the rule would be buy now, sell later. Instead, if you want to earn money as an investor, you need to ride out the low periods.

Now, we happen to be in a low period. I know you’re thinking that we’re in a particularly low period — but that doesn’t change the rules. It just means that you shouldn’t sell stocks right now if you can avoid it. A few companies are probably going to go under due to financial difficulties — if you know in advance, yes, get what’s left of your money out now (and give me a head’s up as well!). If you don’t have psychic powers, though, it’s probably best to leave your money where it is… doing otherwise would be buying high and selling low — the opposite of a good investment strategy.

Why do you want to sell?

If you’re seriously considering selling your stocks right now, I’d like you to step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself why you really want to sell. Do you actually know that something is wrong with a company you have invested in? Or have you just seen the price falling, day after day and gotten worried? I know that watching my stocks’ prices tick downwards is terrifying. Just the same, I’ve invested in fundamentally solid companies. Though their prices have dropped, there is not even a rumor of bankruptcy, layoffs or other troubles. I’ll be holding on to my stocks, even as I’m holding my breath to see how low stock prices drop.

When do you need the money?

Not all of this holds true if you need your money soon. If you were planning on cashing out of the stock market fairly soon, you may not be able to afford to wait. I encourage you to wait if you can, but we’re talking about a wait of years, not months. I know that’s not a feasible length of time for some people to wait, and if you’re among them, perhaps it would be better to get out of the stock market before anything else happens.

There’s no guarantee that the stock market will go one way or the other. I have no special insight one way or the other. All I can say is that I think that staying in the market is better than selling, at least for the moment.

Wall Street is buzzing these days with talk about environmentally responsible companies and alternative sources of energy. Investment companies are starting to realize that the old adage “you can save your money or you can save a tree” doesn’t apply anymore. These new Green companies are working on ways to produce clean energy and products, and are turning a very nice profit doing it. But some investors are weary. Will these “Greenchip” stocks be the next Dot Com boom?

Green Isn’t Just For Hippies Anymore
With the oil crisis in full swing and the well being of the environment finally in the public eye, Green companies are finding it easier than ever to find support from investors. However, more than just investment brokers looking for a buck are buying. Through easy access to online trading, individuals are putting their money into companies that have the same environmental concerns as they do. People who have long said that Green technology and energy are the future are now able to put their money where their mouths are.

Get In On The Ground Floor
Often these companies are still in the startup phases, and their initial offering prices are very affordable. This makes them very attractive to investors who may not have the capitol to buy larger stocks. Despite being cheap, these stocks have very bright projections from analysts. Solar power in particular is a field that is seeing massive growth, and solid return projections. It is estimated that in the next few years, almost 10% of the total power produced in the world will be solar. In addition, the technology behind solar power is well established, having decades of well funded research behind it. Now we’re seeing less and less experimental solar power applications, and more and more practical solar applications. Research in this field has turned from “how can we get it to work” to “how can we make it work better.”

Another Dot Com Fiasco?
Like the Dot Com boom in the late nineties, there are many small startup companies with a lot of potential to choose from. The question is, of course, which one to choose? A form of natural selection occurred in the Dot Com era, where some companies became stronger and put the smaller, weaker companies out of business quickly. Nervous traders, eager to make a quick buck, also added to the problem. If a company was having difficulties, the investor money would dry up, plunging the stock price and sending the business under. Eventually only the very large companies, Google, Yahoo, and eBay to name a few, were left standing. So what’s to stop that from happening in the upcoming Green boom?

Stability In The Long Run
The one thing that calms most investors about Green stocks is that this field, while new in its approach, is old in its function. The main focus of the environmentally responsible energy producers is simply to produce electricity, a utility that we all use. Green product manufacturers are using cheap, recyclable materials to make commodities that we use every day, like hairbrushes or TVs. While the approach to producing these things is new, the things they are actually producing are the things we have been using and will continue to use in the future. With a solid base of consumers to back these Green companies, the value of their shares will continue to rise, and one day be as powerful as big oil is today.