Hello, Reader.

Pills can be tough to swallow, both literally and figuratively.

That’s why, in the literal sense, pharmacists in the mid-19th century coated medicinal pills with sugar, making them more palatable to finicky patients.

Indeed, “a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine down,” as is prescribed – and sang – in the 1964 film Mary Poppins.

This practice led to the term “sugarcoating,” which evolved a figurative meaning of making something unpleasant seem more, well, pleasant.

But there’s no sugarcoating it this week: It’s been a tough one for the markets. 

American stock indexes plummeted on Monday after President Donald Trump warned that Americans may feel a “little disturbance” from the ongoing trade wars. And on Tuesday, the three major indexes all sank to their lowest intraday price since mid-September.

Two hundred and six stocks in the S&P 500 have fallen into a bear market (a decline of 20% from recent peak levels), and the Nasdaq Composite has suffered a steep 10% decline in the past month, putting it into correction territory.

Make no mistake, the current market conditions are difficult. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that corrections and bear markets sow the seeds of future investment successes… 100% of the time.

No one would ever wish a bear market or correction upon themselves, and yet, they are necessary evils. They bring about the opportunities that create future wealth.

Furthermore, they remind us that investment success rarely arrives as quickly and painlessly as we would like.

During bull markets, stocks seem lighter than air… soaring as effortlessly as a red-tailed hawk. As a result, we grow accustomed to immediate gratification.

That’s a mistake… a big one.

I call this type of mistake the “Tyranny of the Immediate.”

In today’s Smart Money, let’s further explore this type of mistake, and how you can be sure to avoid it.

Then, I’ll share how one Wall Street legend isn’t falling for it, either… and where he’s looking instead.

Putting Up a Fight

The “Tyranny of the Immediate” is a condition that prioritizes short-term results over long-term potential. It demands being right, right now… no matter the prevailing stock market conditions.

But by insisting on immediate success, investors often sabotage the opportunity to capture large long-term gains.

That’s because investors who fixate on near-term gains and losses lack the patience and staying power to allow excellent investments to deliver their successes… over the long term.

Consider this real-world example of one well-known stock…

Let’s call it “Stock X.”

If you had purchased Stock X a little over 30 years ago, you would have endured the following setbacks…

• 21% of the time, your stock would have produced an annual loss…
• 8% of the time, your stock would have produced a three-year loss…
• And on one occasion during those 30 years, your stock would have spent an entire decade producing a loss.

Think about that! How would you feel about holding a stock for an entire decade without making one single penny on it?

Our gut reaction is to say, Heck no! … but if that stock had indeed been “Stock X,” you might have been OK with that particular setback.

That’s because Stock X is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A), the investment vehicle that made Warren Buffett a multibillionaire… and made millionaires out of many ordinary investors.

But even this extraordinary rainmaker suffered numerous setbacks along its path to success.

It’s true. If you had purchased Berkshire Hathaway 30 years ago and held that stock until the present moment, you would have endured several rough patches. Based on rolling 12-month calculations, BRK-A produced a negative annual return 21% of the time.

But those uncomfortable one-year episodes would have seemed like a day at Disneyland compared to the nearly 11-year stretch from June 1998 to March 2009 when BRK-A produced a loss!

One decade is a very long time to wait for a payday. It’s a very long time to be wondering why you hadn’t done something else with your money. Anything else.

And yet, during the last three decades, combined, BRK-A shares have delivered a whopping return of 5,000%.

Now, Berkshire’s extraordinary investment results would not have been possible without a long-term time horizon. As Buffett himself famously explained, “Our favorite holding period is forever.”

Admittedly, “forever” can be a challenging holding period, even when you own a stock that is as exceptional as Berkshire Hathaway has been… especially when a correction or bear market strikes.

No one wants to endure a 10-year drought of zero returns. In fact, no one wants to spend any time at all losing money, but it is an unavoidable part of the investment process.

Even the Berkshire Hathaways of the financial markets will try the patience and endurance of investors from time to time… en route to delivering their market-trouncing gains.

This is something that my colleague, the Wall Street legend Louis Navellier, also understands. It’s why he’s not falling for the “Tyranny of the Immediate,” either.

Here’s where he’s looking instead…

Taking Note From a Wall Street Legend

Shares of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) have been suffering recently, but Louis believes the chipmaker will maintain its “AI King” status.

He’s ready to tell anyone who’ll listen, and there’s particular reason why…

On March 20, the company is hosting its first ever “Q-Day.” At this inaugural event, Nvidia may announce a new breakthrough technology that is poised to ignite the next phase of the AI Revolution… and affect nearly every aspect of our lives.

But according to Louis, the mainstream financial media is missing out on the most important part of the story: One tiny small-cap company is positioned to be crucial to Nvidia’s Q-Day reveal, thanks to its technology protected 102 patents.

So, tomorrow, Thursday, March 13, at 1 p.m. Eastern, he’s holding a special time-sensitive briefing to get you ahead of the news. This is your last chance to sign up for the event, so be sure to reserve your spot now.

During this free broadcast, Louis will start telling us about six alternative stocks set to benefit from this AI breakthrough – including the one small-cap company that could deliver 10X to 50X gains.

Click here to sign up for the free event.

Regards,

Eric Fry