Bear Markets Strike Regularly But Long-Term Investors Can Endure
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A bear market is typically defined as a 20% or more drop from recent highs in stock prices.
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Bear markets are usually caused by investor fear, uncertainty, speculation, overleveraged investing, oil price changes, and economic events like recessions.
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Bull markets are the opposite of bear markets - they involve sustained rises of 20% or more off the lows.
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Investors should think long-term, focus on quality companies, avoid trying to time the exact bottom, and build positions gradually during bear markets.
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There have been over 30 bear markets since 1900, occurring every 3-4 years on average, with major recent examples like the Dot-com bubble, 2008 financial crisis, 2020 COVID crash, and 2022 inflation downturn.