just have to see all the signs around you and realize that it’s coming at some point soon. Some folks started becoming bearish in 1996 and 1997. Although the market didn’t bottom for another five or six years, when it did, it was right back to where it had been in 1997. The same thing happened in the last financial crisis in 2009. But that time, the ensuing devastation was much worse... The market went all the way back down to 1995 levels. There has never been a better time to think about market cycles. There has never been a better time to question your underlying assumptions about stocks, bonds, and gold. And there has never been a better time to start preparing for the storm that’s approaching... When you look back two or three years from now, you’ll wish you’d taken this advice. If you think you can simply jump into any stock between now and then, just remember that Kraft Heinz and Facebook each lost at least a fifth of their values in a single day in recent months. If that can happen to popular, large-cap stocks, it can happen to any stock on the planet. Dan Ferris is the editor of Extreme Value , a monthly investment advisory that focuses on some of the safest and yet most profitable stocks in the market: great businesses trading at steep discounts. His work has been covered extensively in Barron ’s and other respected news outlets.
We saw that in early 2018, when the VIX soared to around 37 as the markets sold off. And it happened again at the end of the year... The VIX spiked from around 12 in early October to about 37 by late December. The VIX’s highest mark ever was 80 in November 2008. Until then, it had never breached 50. But as you can see, it spikes quickly if investors get fearful.
Since May 2017, I’ve urged investors to be cautious... Last October, I encouraged folks to buy put options right before the market fell 19% through the end of the year. Of course, as we know, stocks rebounded and the market is higher now. But it hasn’t been a smooth ride. With the extremely high valuation of the market and low level of investor concern, I believe we’ll see plenty more bumps along the way – even if the bull market keeps chugging along. And the thing is, you don’t have to know exactly when the next crash is coming... You
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, investing legend Jim Rogers cohosted the FREE online Bear Market Survival Event where he talked to investors about protecting their portfolios from the coming storm... Event attendees learned why the next bear market will be the worst in our lifetimes... how to knowwhen it’s arriving... how to grow your wealth while others are wrestling with disaster... and much more. Is your portfolio prepared? Click here to find out.
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May 2019
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