The market volatility in August has spooked many investors. A sudden flood of articles proclaiming the death of buy-and-hold has started to appear in many medias. A long-held belief, buy-and-hold simply means buying quality stocks, lock it up in the safe, throw away the keys and only come back 30, 40 years down the road. This is based on the belief that the stock markets will go up in the long term and investors should ignore the volatility. Buy-and-hold would also eliminate market timing and minimize transaction costs.

The boom and bust events since the Asian Financial crisis has prompted a rethink. Investors have went through alot during these times. You have the Asian Financial crisis, Dot com bubble, 911, SARS, Iraqi war and most recently, the global Financial Crisis. Investors have seen their holdings shoot through the roof, only to come crashing down. And the cycle repeats. The decade ...