There were cyclical bear markets in 1977 and 1981 - 2 (both ~ 20 % drops in senior indexes), and in 1994 (DJI / SPX fell less than 10 %, but small caps were down 25 % + after the huge small cap
bull cycle in 1991 - 3) and 1998 (over 20 % drop in SP in 4 months, with LTCM failure the final chord).
The valuation levels embed significant assumptions for growth in rents, which is particularly dangerous when
the bull cycle in commercial real estate is so extended.
Not exact matches
This means that this time consumers
in countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia are fully exposed to rising crude prices, something that hasn't been
in the case
in previous
bull cycles.
If current levels were to turn out,
in hindsight, to be the final lows of this decline, I suspect that the overall return over the next
cycle (by the time we do observe a full 20 % loss) will be as tame as we've seen since the
bull market started
in 2003.
While we seek to outperform during all parts of the market
cycle, our historical experience suggests that our strategy may lag during broad - based
bull markets, such as was seen
in 2017.
When there's a
bull market or the economy is
in the expansion phase of the business
cycle, there are plenty of other investments.
Though our investment horizon of interest is a complete market
cycle, we don't generally think
in terms of
bull and bear markets, because they can only be determined
in hindsight.
While there's a great deal of variation across individual market
cycles, that's roughly the historical average for a 5.25 year market
cycle: a 135 % gain, a 30 % loss, and a 65 % full -
cycle return (about 10 % compounded annually, with the full -
cycle return coming
in at less than half of the
bull market gain).
Considering that the stock market has already been rallying for five years since the lows of 2009, it is very possible the
bull market has already run its course (every stock market runs
in cycles).
We're always open to evidence that would change our analysis of very long - term growth prospects for the U.S. economy, but that evidence evolves slowly enough that we could easily see another complete
bull - bear
cycle in the interim.
This instance may be different
in the near term, but a century of evidence argues that the completion of the market
cycle will wipe out the majority of the gains observed
in the advancing portion to - date (even without valuations similar to the present, the average, run - of - the - mill bear market decline has erased more than half of the market gains from the preceding
bull market advance).
And so the emotional pressure that pulls stock market prices down to insanely low levels at the end of every
bull / bear
cycle remains
in place today.
As we saw
in multiple early selloffs and recoveries near the 2007, 2000, and 1929
bull market peaks (the only peaks that rival the present one), the «buy the dip» mentality can introduce periodic recovery attempts even
in markets that are quite precarious from a full
cycle perspective.
Every secular bear
cycle prior to our current one followed a secular
bull that ended with P / E
in or near the red zone.
Based purely on long - term
cycles, a successful argument could be made that we have been
in a secular commodity
bull market since the turn of the century
in 2000.
From the results, we can see that even after 38 years of consistent saving, you'll only have around $ 1,000,000 to $ 5,000,000
in your 401k
in a realistic
cycle of
bull and bear markets.
I created the above chart of IPOs for 1990 - 2016 using Univerisity of Florida's Jay R. Ritter's data, Prof. Ritter uses a tight definition of IPOs which I believe is more helpful for getting a sense of where we are
in the current
bull cycle by excluding some noise, «follow - on offerings, oil & gas partnerships or unit trusts, ADRs (9 offerings), REITs», etc..
Similarly, I expect that
in the event of a general
bull market
in stocks, the fund will not shine so brightly
in terms of relative performance., The math of investing would favour the fund, however, over several
bull and bear market
cycles because, on a percentage basis, lost dollars are simply harder to replace than gained dollars are to lose.
Be mindful that a shift
in market internals doesn't necessarily mean that the entire
cycle has changed from
bull to bear or vice versa, so we always have to allow for shifts.
In other words, if we experience a modest bear - market
cycle this year within the longer
bull market he wouldn't be surprised.
When it comes down to it, these «
cycles»
in the stock market (often referred to as «Bear» and «
Bull» Markets) are driven by three factors: Innovation, Speculation and Manipulation.
In the next post of this series, we will show the actual outperformance of the S&P SmallCap 600 versus the Russell 2000 over the long term, the higher returns and lower risk over different time periods, and through different
bull and bear market
cycles.
That's fine
in the
bull phase of the
cycle, but it can spell trouble
in the bear phase, when cash flow might go negative and skilled claims adjusters are hard to find.
I continue to act as a nervous
bull in this environment, making money where I can, and realizing that over a full
cycle, my risk control disciplines will protect me
in relative, but not absolute terms.
Why else are credit
cycles long and benign
in the
bull phase, and short and sharp
in the bear phase?
The spread tightening
in the
bull phase of the
cycle is initially relatively rapid, and gives way to smaller bits of incremental tightening, until it is too much, or an exogenous force acts on it.
However, we also believe that market volatility could remain heightened throughout the year due to the increased risk of a trade war with China, uncertainty around the approaching mid-term elections, the potential for increased regulation of large technology companies, and increased investor wariness of market valuations
in the midst of the elongated
bull market
cycle.
As 2017 comes to a close a long secular
bull cycle for risk is firmly entrenched, but it may be interrupted
in 2018 by a healthy cyclical correction.
But by having a better understanding of the
bull - bear
cycle and taking a few minutes to prepare your portfolio ahead of time, you'll likely come through the bear
in better shape and be ready to capitalize on the ensuing
bull.
Historically this particular
bull - bear
cycle lasts about 4 years, with 25 % (or 1 year) of that time spent
in active bear conditions.
For investors seeking long - term investment returns
in value - focused stocks over the complete investment
cycle (
bull and bear markets combined), with added emphasis on reducing exposure to general market fluctuations
in conditions viewed by the Advisor as unfavorable to stocks.
For investors seeking long - term investment returns
in the U.S. equity market over the complete investment
cycle (
bull and bear markets combined), with added emphasis on reducing exposure to general market fluctuations
in conditions viewed by the Advisor as unfavorable to stocks.
As I mentioned earlier, the median price - earnings ratios (P / E) and price - sales ratios (P / S) actually surmounted the peaks at the end of the last two
bull market
cycles — the metrics went beyond the valuation peaks hit
in 2000 and
in 2007.
They often get you out of the market during bear markets and get you back
in to ride the next
bull cycle.
Our hedging approach is intended to be applied over a complete market
cycle - generally several years, but
in any event comprising a complete
bull and bear market.
A decade of extreme
bull and bear
cycles, the 1960s was an exciting time to be
in the industry.
Likewise, if you don't intend to hold the Strategic Growth Fund over the course of a complete
bull - bear market
cycle, you should not invest
in the Fund, because we have no firm expectation that the Fund will outperform the market over smaller segments of the market
cycle.
To earn this distinction, the Fund had to outperform its peers
in both
bull and bear market
cycles since 2000.
Now, as the relentless
bull market has continued to set new all - time record highs, the negative sentiment
cycle has slowly shifted
in the other direction.
The potential for capital gains during
bull market
cycles is astounding however keep
in mind that those capital gains can turn into capital losses during bear market
cycles like we saw during the 2007 - 2008 financial crisis.
I noted back
in 2007, during a similar period of frustration, that less than half of the typical
bull market gain is retained by the end of the subsequent bear market - «Once stocks become richly valued, the remaining gains achieved by the market are almost always purely speculative - they are generally erased over the remaining course of the market
cycle.
Since the S&P SmallCap 600 was launched
in 1994, there are five bear and
bull market
cycles (as defined by peak to trough and trough to peak periods of the S&P 500) to analyze, and the S&P SmallCap 600 outperformed the Russell 2000
in four of those
cycles.
Here's a look at the technical definition of the term, the role of
bull markets
in long - term market
cycles, and how beginning investors can use this knowledge when devising an investment strategy.
Works great
in a
bull cycle, and lousy
in a bear
cycle.
My conclusion regarding the latter, perhaps delusional, is that my underperformance is structural
in nature, due
in large part to the fact that we are
in the middle of an artificially protracted
cycle, a
bull market that is being kept alive by a fiscal respirator.
A frequent speaker at precious metals conferences and
in the financial media, he is one of the handful of experts who have succeeded through multiple
bull and bear
cycles on the strength and skills honed during the dramatic fluctuations of the 1980s.
We are now
in one of the longest
bull market
cycles of our lifetime.
My recommendations at this point
in the
bull portion of the
bull - bear
cycle is twofold.
Low Quality's Round Trip Bad News
Bulls Stock Performance Following the Recognition of Recession The Beginning of the Middle Experimenting with the Market's Median Valuation Anchored Inflation Expectations and the Expected Misery Index Consumer Spending Break - Down Recessions and the Duration of Bad News Price - to - Sales Ratio May Prove Valuable International Markets Show Important Divergences Fixed Investment and the Technology Rally Global Yield Curves, Earnings Growth, and Sector Returns Recessions and Stock Prices Adjusting P / E Ratios for the Market
Cycle Private Equity and Market Valuation Must Stocks Rise Following a Cut
in the Fed Funds Rate?
Thinking of it this way aids daily trading, and allows for clever trading
in bear market rallies, and
bull market pullbacks, while still watching the overall macroeconomic credit
cycle.