Happy Holidays, from our InvestorPlace family to yours!
We hope you’re having a relaxing, joyful day and are not spending too much time thinking about stocks or investing.
But if you can’t help yourself… let us take this opportunity to offer a nugget of wisdom.
It seems people are always looking for the proverbial “gift that keeps on giving.”
And we think investing in the stock market is that gift – if you do it the right way.
The Stock Market Keeps On Giving
Over the past 90 years, the S&P 500 has done nothing but go up. Sure, it doesn’t rise every year. But over time, it just goes up and up and up.
From the 1930s to the 2020s, it rose from an index level of just above 4 to nearly 5,000.
Let’s put that into context.
That means, in those 90 years, every $1,000 investment in the stock market has turned into $1 million.
The stock market is the gift that keeps on giving…
But only for patient investors.
Too many of us fall victim to the extreme (and unhelpful) emotions of fear and greed. We’ll buy when everyone else is buying and sell when everyone else is selling.
But that’s exactly how to ruin a gift that keeps giving.
Indeed, as the old saying goes: Don’t time the stock market; instead, spend time in the stock market.
Through booms and busts, rallies and crashes, expansions and recessions, the key to really making big money in the stock market is to just stick around.
As they say, if you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later, you’re going to get a haircut.
Hang around the market long enough, and you’re going to make money.
The Final Word
So, maybe you got a new watch for Christmas this year, or maybe some new clothes, a new computer or a TV.
All are great gifts.
But they won’t keep on giving forever.
If you want to get the gift that keeps on giving, then keep investing in the stock market. Stick around.
And if you’re looking for someone to help you navigate the market – through both booms and busts – and stay level-headed through it all, I’m happy to be your guide.
Very Happy Holidays!
