From 1959 to 1974, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained precisely 0%. It has gone down as one of the longest and most painful bear markets of recent history.
The Nasdaq is currently in what is shaping up to be an even longer bear market. It's down around 50% from its peak of more than 5,000 in March 2000, and I would argue that it's likely to take another 12 years -- until 2020 -- to reach that level again. That would mean a roughly 20-year period of 0% returns for the index. Like the 15-year bear market from 1959 to 1974, it will go down as one of the biggest bear markets of all time.
But the truth is, there's still money to be made in bear markets.
... the first thing about making money in this bear market is clear: Don't buy and forget. Monitor your existing holdings, sell if your thesis has radically changed, keep cash ready to pounce on new opportunities, and put that money to work on a regular basis. It may seem obvious, but an individual investor would have made far more money by investing throughout the bear market than during the irrational exuberance of the bull.
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