Worried About Stocks? Why Long-Term Investing Is Crucial

The most common question we have received from our clients in recent weeks is, "How will the current geopolitical climate, economic and health uncertainty, and market volatility affect my ability to make returns on my investments and ultimately fund my retirement?" 

These are valid concerns and difficult questions to answer, and ones that commonly cause anxiety for many adults concerned about their future and the future of their loved ones. At Stratus Wealth Advisors, we often advise our clients to ride out the storm, realize that market corrections are hard to predict, and stick with your plan. We feel that this recent article written by David Booth, Executive Chairman and Founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, does a terrific job of easing our concerns in a relatable way. Read on for great insight:

Worried About Stocks? Why Long-Term Investing Is Crucial

By David Booth, Executive Chairman and Founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors

We are living in a time of extreme uncertainty and the anxiety that comes along with it. Against the backdrop of war, humanitarian crisis, and economic hardship, it's natural to wonder what effect these world events will have on our long-term investment performance.

While these challenges certainly warrant our  attention  and deep  concern,  they  don't have to be a reason to panic about markets when you're focused on long-term investing.

Imagine it's 25 years ago, 1997:

• J.K. Rowling just published the first Harry Potter book.
• General Motors is releasing the EV1, an electric car with a range of 60 miles.
• The internet is in its infancy, Y2K looms, and everyone is worried about the Russian financial crisis.

A stranger offers to tell you what's going to happen over the course of the next 25 years. Here's the big question: Would you invest in the stock market knowing the following events were going to happen? And could you stay invested?

• Asian contagion
• Russian default
• Tech collapse
• 9/11
• Stocks' "lost decade"
• Great Recession
• Global pandemic
• Second Russian default 

With everything I just mentioned, what would you have done? Gotten into the market? Gotten out? Increased your equity holdings? Decreased them?

Well, let's look at what happened.

From January of 1997 to December of 2021, the US stock market returned, on average, 9.8% a year.¹

A dollar invested at the beginning of the period would be worth about $10.25 at the end of the period.²

These returns are very much in line with what returns have been over the history of the stock market. How can that be? The market is doing its job. It's science.

Investing in markets is uncertain. It's the role of markets to price out that uncertainty.

Investing in markets is uncertain. The role of markets is to price in that uncertainty. There were a lot of negative surprises over the past 25 years, but there were a lot of positive ones as well. The net result was a stock market return that seems very reasonable, even generous. It's a tribute to human ingenuity that when negative forces pop up, people and companies respond and mobilize to get things back on track.

Human ingenuity created incredible innovations over the past 25 years. Plenty of things went wrong, but plenty of things went right. There's always opportunity out there. Think about how different life is from the way it was in 1999: the way we work, the way we communicate, the way we live. For example, the gross domestic product of the US in 1997 was $8.6 trillion and grew to $23 trillion in 2021.

I am an eternal optimist, because I believe in people. I have an unshakable faith in human beings' ability to deal with tough times. In 1997, few would have forecast a nearly 10% average return for the stock market. But that remarkable return was available to anyone who could open an investment account, buy  a broad-market portfolio, and let the market do its job.

Investing in the stock market is always uncertain. Uncertainty never goes away. If it did, there wouldn't be a stock market. It's because of uncertainty that we have a positive premium when investing in stocks vs. relatively riskless assets. In my opinion, reaping the benefits of the stock market requires being a long-term investor.

By investing in a market portfolio, you're not trying to figure out which stocks are going to thrive, and which aren't  going to be able to recover. You're betting on human ingenuity to solve problems.

The pandemic was a big blow to the economy. But people, companies, and markets adapt. That's my worldview. Whatever the next blow we face, I have faith that we will meet the challenge in ways we can't forecast.

I would never try to predict what might happen in the next 25 years. But I do believe the best investment strategy going forward is to keep in mind the lesson learned from that stranger back in 1997: Don't panic. Invest for the long term.

David Booth
Executive Chairman and Founder
Dimensional Fund Advisors

1. In US dollars. S&P 500 Index annual returns 1997-2021. S&P data© 2022 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.

2. Data presented for the growth of $1 are hypothetical and assume reinvestment of income and no transaction costs or taxes. This value is for educational purposes only and is not indicative of any investment.

The information in this material is intended for the recipient's background information and use only. It is provided in good faith and without any warranty or representation as to accuracy or completeness. Information and opinions presented in this material have been obtained or derived from sources believed by Dimensional to be reliable and Dimensional has reasonable grounds to believe that all factual information herein is true as at the date of this material. It does not constitute investment advice, recommendation, or an offer of any services or products for sale and is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision. It is the responsibility of any persons wishing to make a purchase to inform themselves of and observe all applicable laws and regulations. Unauthorized reproduction or transmitting of this material is strictly prohibited. Dimensional accepts no responsibility for loss arising from the use of the information contained herein.

Investments involve risks. The investment return and principal value of an investment may fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original value. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee strategies will be successful.

"Dimensional" refers to the Dimensional separate but affiliated entities generally, rather than to one particular entity. These entities are Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd., Dimensional Ireland Limited, DFAAustralia Limited, Dimensional Fund Advisors Canada ULC, Dimensional Fund Advisors Pte. Ltd, Dimensional Japan Ltd. and Dimensional Hong Kong Limi ted. Dimensional Hong Kong Limited is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission to conduct Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activities only and does not provide asset management services.