Many investors may think a market high is a signal stocks are overvalued or have reached a ceiling. But they may be surprised to find out that the average returns for the S&P 500 Index one, three, and five years after a new market high are similar to those after months that ended at any level. 

Investors who have reacted to market events by moving to cash have seen their portfolios underperform the markets. Long periods out of the market make matters worse. 

One reason investors shouldn’t try to time the market is they run the risk of missing out on strong performance, which can seriously hamper long-term investment success. 

When markets fall sharply, it’s important to stay invested in order to participate in the recoveries that typically follow. 

Since 1972, there have been 9 bear markets in global equities in the UK. But history shows that equities have typically recovered and have tended to post strong results over the long term. 

What does a century of economic cycles teach investors about investing? 

Investment opportunities exist all around the globe, but the randomness of global stock returns makes it exceedingly difficult to figure out which markets are likely to be outperformers. How should investors deal with this kind of uncertainty? 

It was an up-and-down year for markets—in the end, one with more down than up. The world gave financial markets a lot to process. 

Technology enables immediate access to everything wherever and whenever we want it. 

This has been a challenging year for investors. On top of the equity bear market, the steep losses in bonds1 have been especially surprising, leading some investors to question whether the classic 60/40 portfolio is dead.