Greetings, Jake here.

In Idaho, summer thunderstorms blow into the valley. The dark clouds threaten from the southwest and gather momentum.

These unwelcomed storms show up unannounced, bringing with them high winds, lightening, and a chance of forest fires in the mountains.

These storms would often arrive with a downpour of rain, but it came with a price.

When my sons were younger, these storms didn’t scare them. They saw it as an opportunity to grab an umbrella, dash outside (often barefoot) to the nearest flooded area to play.

Peter Lynch, who was a famed money manager at Fidelity Investments, once said, “The key to making money in equities is not to get scared out of them”.

To put things in perspective, on average, a stock market correction (defined as a decline of -10% or more), blows in every year. Bear Markets (defined as a decline of -20% or more) have occurred on average every 5 years since 1946.

Why does this matter? It provides context that corrections and bear market declines are a routine part of investing. We can’t get scared out of them.

My point isn’t to trivialize or make light of our current economic circumstances, just to give perspective.

Morgan Housel, in his book, The Psychology of Money, writes, “Like everything else worthwhile, successful investing demands of us a price…It’s volatility, fear, doubt, uncertainty, and regret – all of which are easy to overlook until you’re dealing with them in real time.”

If you’ve felt any of these feelings recently, you are not alone.

When we’re in the middle of a bear market, some investors are consumed with pessimism. They may start to feel that the market will never rise again, that their losses will only deepen, that the storm will last too long.

Reminder, the storm will pass, followed by blue skies and wonderful summer days. In fact, every single bear market decline in US history has been followed by a bull market, without exception.

This time will not end any different.

With Next Level as your trusted Investment Advisors, we will navigate the months ahead, together.