BEAR MARKETS ARE A RECURRING PART
OF THE INVESTING CYCLE—YOU MUST BE
PREPARED TO DEAL WITH THEM
Future bear markets will arrive like clockwork, every three to four
years, on average. Avoiding these slumps is the key to protecting
your hard-earned capital. Unfortunately, most investors have no
clue as to the market’s future direction, how the stock market really
works, or how to minimize their losses. Therefore, it is not surprising
that investors suffer the consequences when a bear market
sneaks up and mauls them.
From 1950 to 1999, there were over a dozen bear markets, with
the average one lasting 397 days, resulting in a loss in value of 30.9
percent. The average recovery period to reach the previous high
was about 622 days (1.75 years) based on the S&P 500 Index.1
Assuming the last bear market ended on October 9, 2002 the S&P
500 Index dropped 49.1 percent drop from its top on March 24, 2000
to its bottom on October 9, 2002 which lasted 941 days.