So your advice to avoid the downturn is to never invest in stocks?
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That’s not even close to what I wrote, nor am I giving advise to anyone. And where did the word “never” come from? You are reading way too much into things my friend.
What I clearly said is that, in my opinion, low beta (i.e., less volatile) blue chip stocks with sustainable earnings will ride out the inevitable storm with relatively minor losses, because they they are battleships that have endured many downturns in the past. Everyone feels some pain in a significant downturn. I want to be in a strong building when a hurricane hits.
I have one low beta blue chip that lost 50% in 2008 crash but has recovered nicely. OTOH I have a high beta stock that barely moved in 2008 and is up over 70x since 1997.