You can't win them all, especially in the stock market investing game.
Each month you'll see some of your ASX shares plunge in value. During market downturns you might even see your entire portfolio in the red.
But short term movements, experts say, should be ignored. If you invest with a long-term horizon, the more important factor is whether you still have faith in the businesses you own.
It's not just the everyday investor but even the professionals have to make such judgments.
Cyan Investment portfolio manager Dean Fergie was faced with this exact dilemma as he pored over 3 ASX shares in his fund that shockingly underperformed in November:
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ASX share that's haemorrhaging value but with 'exceptionally bright' future
Delivery service platform provider Zoom2u Technologies Ltd (ASX: Z2U) saw its shares plummet 22% last month.
According to Fergie, it underperformed even though the business was showing "strong underlying customer growth and revenue of its courier service".
"It's obviously exceedingly frustrating when stock prices appear to contradict underlying operating performance," he said in a memo to clients.
"But we are also not so naive as to not consider possible underlying issues."
Zoom2U's white-label fleet management software Locate2U was also seeing "impressive expansion", he added.
"We met with MD Steve Orenstein in Sydney last week and remain confident the company's future is exceptionally bright with strong scalability and significant structural tailwinds."
Unfortunately the stock has dropped a further 20% this month, to trade at 34 cents on Tuesday afternoon.
Neither no news or some news convince the market
Shares for healthcare software maker Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) sank 12% in November.
No news is apparently bad news, as far as the market is concerned.
"The Alcidion share price has been sliding of late on an apparent lack of news-flow," said Fergie.
"However, this month they have announced the win of their long-awaited $23 million+ government contract along with a significant acquisition in the UK."
Investor patience will be further tested though, as the Alcidion share price has lost another 20% in December.
The market yet to grasp this opportunity
Touch Ventures Ltd (ASX: TVL), which is an investment firm spun-off from Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), debuted in September with an initial public offer price of 40 cents a share.
It was about break-even when November started but that month saw a calamitous 17% fall in the share price.
Fergie suspects it's a temporary misunderstanding by the market.
"Touch Ventures traded lower with the market not embracing (for the moment) our analysis of the underlying value of the investment portfolio and the company's significant relationship with Afterpay."
The Cyan team met with Touch Ventures boss Hein Vogel, which did not change its bullish view on this stock.
"Additionally the company conducted an investee company webinar during the month which should improve investor understanding of the company's asset portfolio."
Touch shares have fallen even more this month, to trade at 28 cents on Tuesday afternoon.
