An anniversary is an easy reason to look back on an event, a point in time – good or bad, happy or sad – that has given our life meaning. The event can be personal (a wedding) or professional (the first day at a new job). For the purposes of this week’s Weekly Wire, for me, I guess it is a bit of both.
I was working as an equity portfolio manager when the S&P 500 bottomed out during the Great Recession, so how the stock market was performing at the time had a meaningful impact on me professionally, and, as you might imagine, it had been a very stressful 18 months as the index moved from its October 2007 peak to its March 2009 trough. Navigating that period had a meaningful impact on me personally, as I learned a set of coping skills that enabled me to better focus on what I could control and compartmentalize the pressures and challenges that a severe bear market brings. And to dig a bit deeper into the bear market of 2007 to 2009 (setting aside the countertrend rally of late 2008 / early 2009), the S&P 500 peaked at 1,576 on October 12, 2007, and bottomed out at 666 on March 6, 2009 (see chart - 14 years ago today), having given up approximately 58% of its value.
But, as we like to remind ourselves, markets go up much more than they go down, and the market sure has gone up since the S&P 500 hit 666 on March 6, 2009. More specifically, over the past 14 years, the S&P 500 has produced a total return of approximately 505% and an average annual return of 13.7% through today (I got to run those numbers on the same HP12C calculator I was using back in 2009, which was kind of neat). As we navigate a still very challenging macro and market environment, the resiliency of the US economy and the US stock market is something we all might want to keep in mind.
The views expressed are those of Brinker Capital and are not intended as investment advice or recommendation. For informational purposes only. Brinker Capital Investments, LLC, a registered investment advisor. 660-BCI-3/06/2023