Wild Fluctuation It is reminiscent of 2008-2009 all over again. We are hearing cries of "here we go again" and people are fearful of losing a good portion of their invested assets and retirement savings. So let's talk about March 9th, 2009. The Toronto Stock Exchange hit a low of 7,700. Things looked bad. Good investors were making skittish decisions. Confidence seemed at an all-time low. How bad would it get?
Yesterday All Over Again?
Fast forward 17 months and the TSX is currently around 12,500. How bad could it get? Will the bottom fall out of the markets? If I had told you in March of 2009 that the Canadian stock market would bounce back almost 5,000 points you would have slept soundly that night. You would have been ecstatic.
Fast Forward Back Again
There are many differences between what has gone on these past few weeks versus what happened in 2008-2009. There are almost no fundamental reasons for this volatility, but I once again remind you, where will the markets be 2, 5 or 10 years from now? Almost as sure as any other 10 year period in our history, they will be higher than they are now. And you will have wondered what all the fuss was about in August of 2011. Buy great companies and stop watching “the market”.
And I am always here for any of your questions.
Patrick C. Nicol
image credit: wikipedia