You can argue that we have been in a 20-month bear market.

The market of stocks (most individual names) peaked on February 2021.

The indices peaked on 1/4/2022.

Many individual stocks that were Wall Street darlings in 2021 are down -70-80%; ZOOM, DOCUSIGN, NETFLIX, PINTEREST, ZILLOW, REDFIN, ARKK FUNDS, etc.

The S&P 500 is down nearly -25% this year, the Nasdaq is down -32%, and the small caps are down -25%.

The good news is that:

All Bear Markets End.

Since 1926 the average bull market has lasted 8.9 years on average. The average bear market has lasted 1.3 years on average.

Click to ENLARGE.

In addition, as stocks fall, your expected returns go up.

Midterm years historically bottom on September 30.

Charts are courtesy of Ryan Detrick, check him out.

That is history, and maybe this time is different.

But we are not in the prediction business; the market is going to do what the market is going to do, whether we like it or not. We will focus on what we can control: how we react.

You look at those years, and there was always something big going on; 1974, 2002, 2008, 2001,1990: inflation, the internet bubble popped, the banking crisis/war, the housing bubble. Same soda, different flavor.

If you have been able to sidestep the market's decline as we have, you are in great shape; stay thirsty and be ready to pounce when the market justifies it.

Need Help? You can find me HERE and HERE. (use promo code ZOR25%OFF and get 25% off the annual plan.)