Fear and the Markets

 March 18, 2020

Dear Clients,
 
Thank you again for not panicking! Fear sells! And fear, as an emotion in the markets, is twice as strong on the way down, as greed is on the way up.

Last year in 2019 when the markets were up so high and went up almost the entire year, did any of you say “I don’t like seeing my assets accelerating so much”. So I have included 2 charts (1 chart + 1 graph) below to help you at these very “fearful” times we find ourselves.
The first chart shows how strong the markets recovered once the Epidemic was either cured or a vaccine was found and what percentage the S&P 500 recovered after 6 months or after 12 months beyond that point.
​
The second, or lower of the 2 charts, shows how the MSCI (a world index of stocks) reacted during other epidemics. As you can see, most of the decline in the markets did not last long. Will this time be different? I am not sure, but I doubt it.
 
As always don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
 
Thank you,
Brien