Investors Urged to Keep Buying if S&P 500 Falls 20% After 4 Straight Strong Years
Updated
Updated · The Motley Fool · Aug 24
Investors Urged to Keep Buying if S&P 500 Falls 20% After 4 Straight Strong Years
2 articles · Updated · The Motley Fool · Aug 24
Summary
A bear market would mean a 20% drop from recent highs, and the report argues investors should keep buying through that decline rather than sell into fear.
The case rests on history: selling locks in paper losses, while staying invested has typically led to recoveries and lets investors buy quality stocks at lower prices.
2022 offered the template—while the S&P 500 fell nearly 20%, Amazon and Nvidia each lost about 50%, then delivered outsized gains from the start of 2023.
The warning comes as the S&P 500 is up 11.6% year to date after gains of 24.2% in 2023, 23.3% in 2024 and 16.4% in 2025, with AI enthusiasm pushing valuations higher.
That run could still continue, but the report says stretched prices and self-correcting markets mean investors should keep cash ready for the next downturn whenever it arrives.