This might be a little long winded as my PSAs usually are. IF we are entering a new phase in the markets with lots of sidewise to slightly down action in a trough for an unforeseen amount of time then some of you who have never seen this type of action might need to adjust what you look for in investments. This would also include an adjustment of your expectations for returns. I am by no means declaring Tech and growth dead. My portfolio is built around both. But, never discount the possibility that they might get benched for a while as the market adjusts to a rising interest rate environment. The real question is how long will that adjustment period last.
As
Lightning Lord Rule
likes to point out, many of you probably did not experience the tech bubble burst. Its not just the rate and depth of the decline, its how long it took to recover. We are so conditioned by Fed accommodation that a correction is just a buying opportunity that lasts a few weeks or so.
The QQQ, the tech bellwether. If you bought on the way up in 1999 (not at the peak in 2000), You did not get back to even until late 2013. This is a rare event and hopefully we never see this again in our lifetimes. But beyond the tech crash, look at the recovery. It was years of slow sideways to up movements from 2002 to the crash in 2008. The days of 2% or 3% moves in the indexes just didnt happen like they are happening today.
Over the last 3 months compare QQQ to the SPY. SPY -5% and QQQ -11%
Now over the same 3 month period GD is up over 5%. I am sure most of you don't know who GD is. General Dynamics.
GD is a steady workhorse. After the Black Monday crash, it only broke its 200 DMA once in over a year. It makes lots of money for investors, pays a dividend and even at a 52-high is still "reasonably" priced based on earnings. It is never going to give you 30 or 40% stock price appreciation in a year. But when the market is going sidewise for an extended period of time, this is the type of stock that will help you not starve during the cold dark period. I am not saying buy GD, just using it as an example of stocks that you may normally ignore but might become valuable if the market shifts. When the indexes spend a year going flat, a 2 or 3% dividend doesnt look so shitty on a stock that is also giving you 4 or 5% in stock price that year.
tldr: Hope for the best, plan for the worst. It never hurts to broaden your horizons and look at stocks you haven't ever really considered before.