How did your clients do in 2008?

They lost money. The bigger question is: What did we do while it was going on, and afterwards?

As Chris Davis once said “You make most of your money in a bear market, you just don’t know it at the time.” It is what you do while it is happening that ultimately matters. Every bear market feels different, because it is. First, you are usually at a difference place in your life for each bear market. You may have been working for one, and retired for another, so how it affects you and what you should do may be different. The catalyst that caused stock prices to go down 20, 30 or even 50% is also different. It is important to have a professional, who already knows you, and who has lived through many of these markets help you through it.