There comes a time with every potential investment, negotiation or relationship that you either need to bite the bullet and take a risk or move on. We analyze, chart, evaluate and observe and ultimately come to what is often a difficult decision. As the old saying goes, more or less, go or get off the pot.

Earlier this summer, I highlighted telecom stocks like Windstream Corporation, Verizon Communications, AT&T, Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo. Although risk assets have been choppy, the sector has noticeably outperformed in recent weeks, including benchmark names like Vodafone, along with more volatile names like Telecom Italia, Portugal Telecom, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and funds like iShares S&P Global Telecommunications and Vanguard Telecom Services ETF.

AT&T (T), NTT DoCoMo (DCM), Vodafone (VOD), Verizon (VZ) vs. S&P 500 - 6 months

If the Phone Doesn t Ring, It s Me

Investing is about making decisions. There s a bull and bear argument for everything, and you might decide that, for whatever reason, telecom simply isn t a theme that holds your interest. In a free economy, where you invest is your call alone.

But if you see potential for further gains in the sector as I do, my thought would be to jump in even at seemingly high prices, rather than trying to wait for a pullback before establishing a position. The fact is that telecom is strong right now. Using prudent position size, that s exactly the moment when you want to strike.

To wait for an investment to drop with the expectation it will turn around and revisit previous highs as soon as our shares cross the tape borders on delusion. Rarely are markets that accommodating.

Six years ago, with gold near a multi-decade high of $430, we profiled the metal asking a simple question: if not now, when? Prices were up, but as is often the case in strong markets, the high ended up being simply a high. Gold subsequently more than doubled with the herd getting on board in only the last few years.

If telecom holds appeal, ask yourself how much further the sector will have to climb before you finally take the risk, but don t wait for a correction to put money to work. A stronger security is almost always a higher probability bet.

At the time of writing, Hoenig s fund held positions in many of the securities mentioned.