Bear Markets: This Time is Different (Every Time)

[@nvass99]

In my eyes, Japan's stagnant market is the strongest example of why global diversification is paramount.

[@modernexistence4206]

Why is their economy so stagnant?

[@gimmick206]

@@modernexistence4206 it's not, stock market growth doesn't equal economic growth

[@brendon5350]

Truly one of the best finance channels out there. Academic and fact based.

[@joaofleumatico]

I found this channel yesterday and expected to be another clickbait "day trade course" but it's not that at all

[@ba8898]

Agreed. Some of his videos are a bit too complex and technical for me but as an academic I like that his arguments are always research based.

[@corneliuspuder2695]

Your ability of pushing out content like this every other week shows that your knowledge about these topics has to be outstanding! Thank you so much for your effort! :-)

[@anonymousinvestor9593]

Ben is awesome... one of few... stick to a strategy, don't get emotional. Just published my 3 month strategy for my $1M portfolio on my channel.

Finally an expert opinion on current situation.

[@James-il3tq]

Every video Ben does he says the same thing - diversify, diversify, diversify. If you're looking for a conservative investment strategy that limits downside risk and are satisfied with 6% then Ben's advice is solid. Good for basic investors that are happy with index investing, which also has its risks (see etf investing risks). Nothing is risk free and remember the more you diversify the less risk you take but also, less upside on your investment.

[@James-il3tq]

Basically Ben's whole point every video is invest in a super diversified portfolio like VBAL or VGRO. For most that's fine. For people who are willing to take on more risk and do more work and research, there's better channels out there.

[@christopherrussell6055]

James any recommendations on more channels to follow?

@@James-il3tq any suggestions?

[@anonymousinvestor9593]

Yes. Many of my principles for my $1M portfolio are similar.

[@mircoc2357]

I forgot to say a thing...that is the absolute best feature of your contribution.... your videos are not based on speculations, but based on research (most of which awarded with a nobel prize!!....) and that is the real breakthough for me.... I mean finally all the talking about investing is cleared out and what is left is a clear, understandable video that any average people can easily understand. This is why I want to thank you again and hope your channel reach the amount of subscribers it really deserve !!!! ciao

[@michaelsmith4904]

didn't Black-Scholes get a Nobel prize, yet it's flawed in how it deals with tail risk?

[@BenFelixCSI]

On reflection I think the example at 5:00 is a bit of a stretch. The US stock market crashed in 1917 before the Spanish Flu was widely known. There were outbreaks in France and England around the time of the US market decline but those outbreaks were not identified as Spanish Flu until much later. The US didn't start implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions like social distancing and business closures until later in 1918. The market decline could be attributed to other economic issues: _However, it would appear that the fall in share prices may be attributed in part to generally rising interest rates and controls on new capital issues. Furthermore, there were strong efforts to divert financial resources to the purchase of government bonds to the finance the war (Friedman and Schwartz, 1963)._ It is still interesting to note that despite the global economic impact of the flu, the market did not take a hit when the flu reached its peak in 1918; it continued its recovery from the 1917 decline. This part was accidentally cut. It would have been at 14:13: _I mentioned earlier that from 1900 through 2019, global stocks delivered a 5.2% annualized inflation adjusted return. With US inflation of 2.9% over the same period that’s an 8.1% annualized nominal return. That figure includes the Japan situation that I described, and it also includes the failed, failed as in went to 0, markets of Russia and China, and the unsuccessful markets of Austria and Portugal._

[@adonisds]

What happened in Austria and Portugal?

[@BenFelixCSI]

@adonisds I don't have the full data set but from the Global Investment Returns Yearbook Summary Report www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/news-and-expertise/esg-investing-a-trend-that-is-constantly-evolving-202002.html _Similarly, we also added Austria-Hungary, which had a 5% weighting in the end-1899 world index. While Austria-Hungary was not a total investment disaster, it was the worst performing equity market and the second worst performing bond market of our 21 countries with continuous investment histories. Adding Austria, China, and Russia to our database and the world index was important in eliminating non-survivorship and “unsuccess” bias. In 2014, we added another “unsuccessful” market, Portugal, to our dataset._

[@Vkob]

@@BenFelixCSI Global capitalism has been a triumph of demonstrating the tragedy of the commons as negative externalities end life as we know it through climate change. Sorry Ben... This video didn't leave me with any confidence in buy and hold right now.

[@adonisds]

@@BenFelixCSI Thanks!

[@edwardmauer7442]

Is this with or without dividends reinvested?

[@RDMVDS482]

Long term Brazilian value investor here: Man, your videos make it harder to stick to stock picking 😂. Keep up the good work!

[@lordepl]

Ben, are the most clear and data/fact driven youtuber on finance! It's good to know what you think!

[@maryankitsenko9694]

Ben Felix and The plain bagel - these are the two channels about finance/investing that deliver enormous amount of value and insights. Gentlemen, well done!

[@blakutnuj]

Ben the Man is back with high quality info. Watch and learn. The best free personal finance education out there!

[@squishtomar1676]

Even better than the majority of paid PF education IMO

[@mattpukas]

Rule #1: Never lose money. And how do you maintain that? By not selling, even through bear markets.

[@davet6599]

Matt Pukas That is Buffett's No. 1 rule.....that he just broke!

[@mattpukas]

Dave Thirkell he did! He sold some of his Delta airlines stake right?

[@davet6599]

Matt Pukas Yes, I just read that yesterday. Worrying for investors when he is doing things like that!

[@brettharter143]

Hes old remember, at that age people can make bad decisions at the brain changes. He wont be able to drive soon

[@CC-jy4gr]

This works in those situations where the company doesn't go bankrupt and delist its share.

[@justalettertooshor]

Extremely happy to see Ben putting out quality content with real facts compared to all the other fear-mongering “is this the end of everything as we know it??” content that’s been hot recently. Thank you for consistently putting up real information and not speculative garbage.

[@401ria3]

All roads lead back to small cap value!

[@clarifyingquestions]

What does this mean?

[@Bigboss-xe6lm]

@@clarifyingquestions I think it means you need to own both big and small cap companies if you want to diversify right. Total market small cap + big cap in other words. Owning 5% of small cap disruptors might also be a smart thing to own. Tesla was one of those a few years back, Illumina as well

[@mackerel2002]

The question is how? I would love to have more small cap value sticks on my portfolio but i don't know a good etf.

[@sethspringer5843]

Luke mc govern SLYV, VBR, IJS, VIOV, etc.

[@CC-jy4gr]

buy the whole market

[@ערןאטיאס-ר6ש]

Love your vids!! You are so professional, thank you.

[@LegionKilo]

Ben "I Canada So Hard" Felix. A rational man with unmatched rationale. Ben "My History Began When The Market Began" Felix. A massive natural disaster, macroeconomic troubles, and a financial crisis... an abridged statement of today's global market conditions where natural disaster is a virus brought forward from the 1900's to today. I'm your #1 fan.

[@CC-jy4gr]

ben and joseph in a maple tree

[@julianschmahl8267]

Considering the FED is dropping interest rates and there is a trend across developed economies for these to go negative. Could you please do a video on the negative and positive effects of negative interest rates and what causes it?

[@damonhage7451]

Julian Schmahl There is no positives of the Fed manipulating interest rates. It is simply central planning of the most important price in the economy. Not good in any circumstances.

[@seanobrien7751]

@@damonhage7451 The Plain Bagel does a nice video on negative rates

[@seanobrien7751]

sorry my reply was to you Julian

[@jeffreysrnec]

Just learned that Ben is 6’11 and played NCAA ball.

[@BenFelixCSI]

That is true. Don't look at my stats though :)

[@Sethnaca]

Ben Felix How tall is your coworker / associate in your Rational Reminder podcasts? Cause holy crap 6’11” is insane.

[@ZenoxDemin]

@@BenFelixCSI Your FT% is the same % as Cramer's investments advice.

[@centralnyguy37]

@@ZenoxDemin You know what the really funny part about Cramer's investment advice is. He gives it out with such confident, nuanced, assurance. The dude has major Dunning Kruger issues.

[@1maybeline]

Ben, you're a smart stud! 👍😍

[@TomWallischh]

This is insanely well done. Thank you very much!!

[@daverichardhadley]

just watched The Queen's speech talk about the value of self-discipline and resolve in her subjects. KZbin's algorithm recommended that I follow it up with Ben Felix talking about the value of self-discipline, resolve and value in investing.

[@prayunceasingly2029]

@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd Good point!

[@prayunceasingly2029]

@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd I bet the queen needed self discipline during Charles's scandals as well as her grandson's mishaps though.

[@paulf1113]

@Celtic Revival / Adfywiad Celtaidd Outside of all other debates about the aesthetics or desirability of a monarchy, they do generate far, far more revenue for the public purse than they take.

[@CaseyCJL]

japan had 45% share of the worlds public equities before the 90s???? that shocked me.....

[@mortenjacobsen2472]

This is turning into my favourite KZbin channel. The last month's financial uncertainty has been challenging and sticking to my strategy has been difficult. Thanks.

[@helshabini]

Thank you for this video. I was stunned by the knowledge of past times to recover. It puts into perspective how essential it is to have patience with stock investments.

[@Sousou30988]

Ya sidi :D

[@anthonygardner400]

You continue to amaze, Ben. Thanks for being a trusted voice of reason during these crazy times. Be well.

[@laurentrigoreau5777]

Great video, stay the course, don t panic. Thanks for these historical data that help to put things in perspective.

[@defuwan4337]

This channel is the best finance one. No doubt.

[@joelthorne7434]

Incidentally, I recently came upon your videos and podcasts while researching the topic of dividends-Thanks for the much-needed education!

[@RonNewmanPiano]

Ben, if you read this, I love the conciseness of your information. I hate the intro music. I skip the first minute and a half to avoid it, and also to avoid being told what I have already read in the title. No intro needed, we can tell what the video is about and who you are from the title and written parts. I have subscribed.

[@RebeccaEvans]

The delicious useful density of your videos is the equivalent of 100 hours of fluff on other shows. And yours are sourced.

[@PapaCharlie9]

The out performance of Japanese value stocks and the reinforcement of the importance of diversification is a fantastic rejoinder to the "Japan is the future of every equity market" meme. I learn something new with every video in this channel.

[@squishtomar1676]

It's nice to see people outline factual information on historical bear markets. With a level head. Thank you Ben

[@iulianaciucurel8488]

Your clear and concise way of presenting makes it so easy to understand the content. Thanks 😃

[@pedrogarces6876]

Well done! Amazing analysis and commentary. Best KZbin channel with practical facts and insights.

[@t.p.9550]

this is the definition of quality video. Thanks!

[@dolevmazker736]

Absolutely amazing content

[@Andy-em8xt]

I held out and I'm so glad I did. The stock market gained 30% from its bottom. We were blessed to have a very quick "kind of" recovery. But the bear market might not be over yet.

[@jamesc3953]

Bear markets are the best times to buy

[@jem5691]

Great video! This should be re-watched every year as it's absolutely central to the story of stock investing. But I want to add one note about expectations of maximum drawdowns (peak to trough declines). I don't think we should take previous % loss figures as literal "worst-case scenarios". They are just a rough idea of potential % drawdown. Many of these historical datasets use coarse figures such as monthly numbers. If it were possible to see daily values (which we CAN'T see from past events) the % drawdown might actually be greater. Additionally, we are now in a faster moving, more real-time pricing market than ever before. Although I think it's very unlikely, I wouldn't be surprised to see a % drawdown in a bear market that exceeds 60% and I mention this because an investor should not get freaked out just because drawdown exceeds 50%.

[@grantmaxted1160]

Thanks, Ben. This one has gotta be in the top few percent of your videos. My favourite line. “Uncertainty is tough for us humans”. Indeed.

[@staspmr]

Ben, I've never been more jealous of your hairstyle than I am right now when all the barbers are closed...

[@BenFelixCSI]

It’s not hard to replicate. I think it’s the optimal hairstyle. Nobody seems to want to do it though 🤷‍♂️

[@Stefbb]

@@BenFelixCSI I also think it's optimal. If you save the money and invest it, your hairstyle will make you having 30-40k more when retired.

[@MrPennstate2014]

@@BenFelixCSI I do exactly what you do, Ben. Genetics is a bitch, but it saves me from having to spend money at the barbershop.

[@johnkenney7217]

@@BenFelixCSI Here's another one on how to save lots of money over a lifetime: Razor blades mainly do not wear out through friction, but rather oxidation of the micro-edge. If you blot the blades on a towel after shaving, which takes literally less than 2 seconds, the blades last at least 3 times as long.

[@PierceJPeterson]

Awesome video congrats on 100k!

[@alecgalbraith5604]

I can always count on Ben being level headed. Appreciate the videos!

[@dimitribiemond]

Love the channel, thank you for all the videos

[@qq798830597]

My favorite channel . True wisdom !

[@Bsketball77]

Note for investors: Ben's favorite options for value investing are funds that track the S&P value indexes. For vanguard, those are VIOV, IVOV, and VOOV ETFs. I do have a question Ben: vanguard doesn't have value mutual funds corresponding with these ETFs, so it's hard to set up automatic investing. Their value mutual funds (non-institutional) follow CRSP indexes. My question, is it a significant disadvantage to use the CRSP value funds in times like these? My main concern is that small stocks in CRSP are more likely to fail since that index has looser inclusion requirements, and therefore the CRSP small value fund would significantly underperform the S&P one. If that's true, does that also apply for mid and large cap as well? Or, is the difference fairly small in the long run, and one is just a bit more optimal than the other?

[@1maybeline]

Sounds like a question that you're going to have to pay a Financial Expert to analyze for you.

[@Bsketball77]

@@1maybeline First I'd have to find a financial expert that actually is well versed in factor investing based on peer-reviewed research and would know how to properly assess funds and their exposure to a given factor... I don't know of any around me... The reason I ask Ben is he has already done this analysis :) Check out his analysis here, it's very good: www.pwlcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PWL-WP-Felix-Factor-Investing-with-ETFs_08-2019-Final.pdf

[@erichartman5996]

Wow I so value your calm and well-presented information. Thank you!!

[@ojaott]

Just commenting to help great videos spread. Thank you, Ben, for all the work and analysis you put into your video.

[@Jay-xr3sb]

1st stage: panic sell off 2nd stage: relief rally, denial of the situation, V shape talk 3rd stage: the grind down to reality, forced selling, fundamentals of earnings, jobs, the economy. Possible financial crises of the back of a health crises. 4th stage: bottoming, then a slow crawl up, there is no euphoria here. Are we recovering, where are the green shoots etc. This isnt a U shape, elevator down, escalator up. If this isnt a depression bear then a reccession bear is circa 50%+ off the highs, we have only reversed 1 years returns, dont kid yourselves. Stay safe.

[@og7952]

none of this matter if you invest for a 40 years horizon and stay invested

[@Jay-xr3sb]

@@og7952 on a long enough timeline none of this matters, but at some point you will want to de risk and access your portfolio. A 50% drop requires a 100% return to get you back to where you were. Now you see the drop, risk management is more important than short term profits. I'd rather be a little late back in than in too soon. Bears go out the window, bulls take the stairs.

[@og7952]

@@Jay-xr3sb Hello, this can be hedged by having different types of investment for short term horizon withdrawal, like 1 year of expenses in cash, 1 year of expenses in bonds, which allows to not touch stocks for a 2 year period in need of cash. Plus, when stock market is high, you have to rebalance your portfolio (with high returns, you can finance your 2 years of expenses withdrawal). The problem is people invest in stocks when the market is doing well, have no emergency fund or do not have a great asset allocation and as soon as the market crashes, they are in need of money or simply afraid and sell their stocks. Investing is a delicate balance of horizon investing, asset allocation and discipline.

[@Jay-xr3sb]

@@og7952 i agree with all you have said, all I am saying is every now and then your entry point and rebalance needs to be timed as best as you can. I see the greater downside risk out weighing the near upside. I would stage in or wait for us to break the lows. The media have been pumping but the reality is very different. 90% cash and 10% gold over here, the most telegraphed reccession I have ever seen.

[@grantmaxted1160]

Jay, you cannot know the future. Of course, you can have an opinion, but you cannot know. All that is currently known about the current mess is priced into the market. If tomorrow’s new information is worse than expected, (even if good news), the market will go down. If it is better than expected (even if bad news) the market will go up. So not only do you have to know what is going happen in the future, you have to also have to know if it is better or worse than expectations. No wonder it’s impossible to time the market. All you can do is stay the course and rebalance, so you get to buy stocks on the cheap which gets you back to where you were more quickly when the market recovers. .

[@nicksanchez1615]

Ben can you just make a global diversified ETF equities so we can all invest in it already?

[@Mr.dr.brotherman]

Yes yes yes. Sober, informed and well produced.

[@jc74435]

Best video you've done so far. Thank you. As an european investor, what's your opinion about the Vanguard FTSE All World ETF (VWCE)? Is it sufficiently diversified? I find it hard to get exposure to small cap value ETFs here in the EU.

[@indreurbonaite5886]

FTSE Global All Cap incluces small cap, might want to look into it!

[@CarnifaxMachine]

I see the "Japan scenario" thrown about periodically. First, the Japan bubble was arguably the largest asset bubble in the history of finance. The Schiller PE ratio at the peak exceeded 90. That's insane. We're hovering around 30 right now in the US and people think it's high. The highest Schiller PE ratio in US history was the tech bubble, which topped out at 44. So Japan's bubble was >2x larger on a CAPE basis. In the 30 years leading up to the bubble, stock prices rose 5000%, even though consumer prices only doubled. That's an average of a 14% return every year. Sure, we've seen the stock market provide similar returns in individual years. But an average of 14% consistently over 30 years? That's crazy. I do not expect a Japan scenario anytime soon in the US.

[@lemonade2473]

**Dancing to loud music** Market: Man, I'm getting tired. Fed: Yea we've been partying for 11 years, can you believe it? This party rocks! Market: I think I'm gonna head home now. I gotta check up on my parents, and my house... Fed: Noo, come on man, please stay. Don't be a party pooper. Market: I don't know, I really should head out. Fed: I said NO! You will stay here! Market: Uhh... are you alright? Fed: We can't go home, none of us can. Market: Fed, what do you mean? Fed: I mean, none of us can go home. A bomb will go off if I turn off the music. We have to keep dancing and partying. Forever. Market: Wa-wait... you're joking right? Also, have you seen Suzie? Fed: I had to stop her. She tried to leave a couple years ago. Market: Oh my god. I have to get out of here, I have to tell-Ack! Fed: *injects Market* Come on, let's dance. Market: Ok, I'll dance. To be continued...

[@BenFelixCSI]

I would like to subscribe.

[@Kaodusanya]

Can I have spoilers please

[@joelthorne7434]

For retirees, do you recommend a large cash emergency fund to avoid selling shares in a recession?

[@ryanmaharaj1217]

Hi Ben - thanks for the content overall but especially the last few weeks. Your clarity, tone, production quality and topics always are spot on!

[@Jeroen93]

Do you think it is wise to keep a cash buffer for bear markets? To buy at a discounted rate during uncertain times. And if so, what percentage of a portfolio would you recommend?

[@sterneurs1942]

I apologise for the mistakes english is not my first language . I have two question about diversification : _What happen if a provider (Vanguard for exemple) goes bankrupt ? _ Should i buy different etf from different providers ? Thank you for all your education material.

[@kungpowlo]

You and Adam Khoo are a God send. Unbiased information coming from experienced individuals.

[@Beakerandgreg]

Thanks for that, Ben!

[@PapaCharlie9]

Every video on this channel is great, but this one stands out for timeliness and interest for an audience beyond this channel. So many people who haven't lived through and don't know this history of bear markets truly think it's the end of the investment world forever. I hope there will be a blog post that goes with that, so I can share both.

[@georgeemil3618]

Always keep cash in your investment accounts for buying opportunities. As Ben had repeated with several examples, markets have dropped 30%. The really bad crashes exceed 80%. And several times in any year, markets drop only 5% but that's enough for the news to make a lot of people panic. Examples are Sept. 2020 and May 2019.

[@GoodComedian2011]

Thanks for your work, Ben. I think that “japanification” of US are highly unlikely. Europe has more perks for that like aging population

[@Cardifftoyboy1]

Very comforting and honest words...Many thanks Ben from Devon England.

[@harvey1965]

Really enjoy listening to Ben. Thanks!

[@LouisWilen]

Excellent, reassuring video Ben. Thanks for the historical perspective.

[@sincerity3]

This is really good. I love that you reference scholarly sources. Thank you

[@ElektrikaCo]

What a great video! It is nice to see content on behavioral economics. I'm currently reading Thaler's "Misbehaving" and find it fascinating. I think the behavioral side is just as important as quant models. I would love to see more content on behavioral economics and finance.

[@firefighterps2]

I'm grateful to have found your channel. Sensible, well informed content. Thank you Ben.

[@rumpelr]

Oh wow! This is so informative and exactly the information I needed. Uncertainy surly is scary.

[@dimitrismavridis2179]

You're amazing. Greetings from Athens, Greece. Btw you should take a look at the Greek stock market. It peaked in 1999 with a total market cap of 212 billion euro. It has never recovered since then! Now it's worth just 26 billion. The year 1999 was a huge bubble in here.

[@Manny123-y3j]

Another excellent video. Thank you so much for these. They are very helpful.

[@ChezVee]

This was so concise and enlightening! Thanks so much.

[@kangre63]

Thanks again for another excellent video! You are the best anti-anxiety agent for these times. Your historic and fact-based information is extremely helpful.

[@trs8696]

woah new ben felix and dragon's den uk videos up in the same fifteen minutes, corona life doesnt get any better than this!

[@matthiaswitt1063]

Simply. Ben's the best.

[@ronie6773]

Good quality content. Thank you 😊❤️

[@AussieMoneyMan]

Not sure if you mentioned Japan in response to my comment but was great that you mentioned it nonetheless.

[@BenFelixCSI]

Yours was one of them, but there were a bunch on the last video. Had to be addressed!

[@AussieMoneyMan]

@@BenFelixCSI Great stuff. My guess was as you described. Simply diversity and the issue almost fades away along with many others.

[@attentioncore]

Great content, thanks Ben!

[@galaxytrio]

Thanks, Ben. Well-presented and useful info as usual

[@lucasvasconcelos9156]

Nice vídeo! It would be interesting to see emerging markets data too.

[@pran10000]

Holy smokes. This blew my mind. Thanks

[@artifaxiom]

This is such an exceptional video that I'm sure will have many periods of relevance. I love the rigor and data-driven approach of it. Very convincing!

[@BenFelixCSI]

Thanks!

[@mbabcock111]

Absolutely fantastic job Ben! Thank you for your time and research in this tumultuous time. BZ,

[@rtashpulatov]

very informative, as usual. Felix, what are your thoughts about buying protective puts during the market downturns?

[@Matbart]

Hey Ben, so around the 4:00 mark you cover the big crash where it would have taken stockholders who invested during the peak 15 years to recover without going over deflation. My question is, if those stockholders would have continued buying MORE stocks following the crash, would it had expedited their recovery? Thanks.

[@solaire9512]

Great video as usual Ben. Thanks for your obvious hard work and impartial fact based content.

[@mplslawnguy3389]

Great information and analysis of the stock market from a historical perspective. No fluff, just facts.

[@volcanpvp5704]

Excellent video, subscribed.

[@Simon-ir6mq]

one thing to consider is that the value of money increases during a recession: if you just lost your job, you might need to sell your stocks at a loss just to make ends meet. This drives Stock prices down even though investor expectation about future performance of the company hasn’t changed.

[@BenFelixCSI]

Ideally you're in a position where you can weather a recession from a cash flow perspective before you start investing in stocks.

[@Xirtap17]

deflation is common in some recessions, except the government controls the printing of money and can do anything it wants to, including devalue the currency (inflation). We may see that "cash is trash" by the end of this.

[@autumnm.4254]

Yes, this time is absolutely different. Let no man deceive you.

[@MrPennstate2014]

This video makes me so much more confident in my investing. Things will get better. I just have to be disciplined and keep adding to my accounts.

[@pipebliss]

Ben, You definitely get a "thumbs up" for this one. A nice historical lesson on past bear markets and a must watch by all investors. You and I disagree on how to invest; you prefer the index approach while I prefer stock picking. The main reason why I prefer stock picking, even though I believe it is many magnitudes more difficult and not for the average investor is because of the 1989 Japan example you reference. As an economy gets mature, more and more tricks are needed for the entire stock market to keep producing 9-12% average annual returns when the population is aging and GDP is slowing. If we take the last bull market as an example. Interest rates in the USA were decreased to the lowest levels ever, stayed near those lows and huge QE programs lasted years; this is not a sustainable path for an economy, in my humble opinion. Big companies piled on massive debt and bought back their own shares in massive quantities, artificially putting a floor under prices. This sounds negative, but, in the same period massive innovation took place by many "new" companies that have changed the way we do business and how we spend our time and money; some examples, Shopify, Netflix, Apple, Tesla, MercadoLibre, FaceBook, ULTA, Lululemon, Chipotle, Adobe, etc. Those are just the ones I picked that an average person would recognize... there are dozens and dozens more that people will be less familiar with. My point is: even if we experience a period like Japan where overall GDP is stagnant, the population is aging and the overall stock market goes nowhere, there will always be many new businesses that create new wealth, which provide new products and services we want to buy and use. The bulk of these "returns of innovation" won't be captured by the common index funds and the only way to participate is to invest directly. Small cap funds may provide better returns than large cap funds, but the best returns will always be in finding and holding the winners directly.

[@UnknownUnknown-tu3be]

If you are intelligent or lucky enough to find those winners and at what cost? Numbers say you lose....

[@pipebliss]

@@UnknownUnknown-tu3be I don't think you have to be highly intelligent or lucky to find them. There are many groups of investors that are collaborating to find and identify the next big winners. You need to identify the dynamics of this type of portfolio approach. You are going to end up with a portfolio of probably 50+ different companies (I'm currently at 70+) and only a handful of them will be the big winners that drive 80% of your portfolio gains. As I mentioned above, it's most likely not for the average passive investor that isn't willing to spend a lot of time; but, no reward is given easily.

[@Koala-Tech]

Your videos are very clean and minimalist. What is your software and process used in creating your videos?

[@BenFelixCSI]

I couldn't tell you, but I work with an excellent animator/ illustrator 5side.tv/

[@irenepaz6233]

I just found this video, Thanks for explaining this facts in an honest and uncomplicated way.

[@jooky87]

Excellent summary of the history of bear markets

[@SnuupyYT]

Could you please do a video on volatility targeting (and volatility targeted + leveraged) strategies?

[@stephenmclaughlin278]

Generally I agree with the research on dollar cost averaging, ie. get in the market now rather than try and “market time” by cost averaging. In the case where you have cash reserves however, and the market is now “cheap” from a value standpoint, do you think this could be a good Redeploy Cash Opportunity?

[@PapaCharlie9]

FWIW, DCA isn't about market timing. It's anti-market timing, since if done right it's fixed dollar amounts at fixed intervals, which by definition can't know anything about market conditions. It just so happens that if the market is down, the same dollars will buy more shares. DCA is more about regret minimization than optimizing return.

[@brianbirnbaum9760]

@@PapaCharlie9 It's more market timing than lump sum investing

[@szymon_brodziak]

Please do a video on investing in TIPS and investing in bonds (as a hedge for your equity part of portfolio) in general in a current covid crisis environment

[@arnabsinha7341]

Impressive presentation backed by hard data

[@Martin-qb2mw]

The problem with the tech bubble was that many people started investing at that time and they only had tech stocks. Consequently, they didnt see a 45% decline they saw a 95+% decline and many never came back to investing.

[@anonymousswimmer4010]

Love all your videos, Ben! You are one of the only trustworthy voices on finance. I look forward to these videos every week - please keep it up!

[@happosade]

Ah, what a time to watch this again, check home country hardest drop (75% decline from peak), re-evaluate my choices, and not do a thing. Thanks again!