"and just protect the position through the options markets" --> this makes you a trader, not an investor.
Is it? You must mean a bear market in C. Right? If so, I'm not sure that has anything to do with what value investors attempt to do. Typically they are starting to accumulate positions while the bear market appears to be intact. Right?
What value investors routinely attempt to do is pick a bottom. What generally happens is they catch a falling knife. They buy WAY TOO early and the stock falls further and they become bag holders. Then they average down. The stock very often crashes, the company ends up in bankruptcy. The stock almost always wallows away for months very often years. They rarely factor in the time value of money into their investments. That is the common flaw many value investors share. Always way too early. The smart value investors DON'T buy when stocks are falling and in a down trend. Why because you never know how far they will fall. They wait for the light at the end of the tunnel. They wait for the stock to reverse direction and sacrifice a few points in lieu of safety. They wait for the light at the end of the tunnel as far as the fundamentals and stay on the sidelines patiently watching and waiting for the proper reversals in the fundaments and technicals to occur. As far as C is concerned and the financials and mortgage co's....you don't know what is out there. Lots of risk and surprises to happen in the coming months. It is just rookie novice value investors buying them now. Smart money is patiently watching and waiting. Todays price action is a good lesson. That's smart value investing 101. You're welcome.
Value investors donât normally buy stocks going into bankruptcy in the future. Of course nobody knows the bottom so they normally buy small amounts at a time to average the low price.
Can we have a show of hands here who believe Citigroup will file for bankruptcy within the next 2 years or so?