Bear markets are almost here, but here’s why you should continue your investments and SIPs

• The unholy trifecta of exploding inflation, rising interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine war have triggered a massive selloff in global equity markets.
  
• Most of the top stock indices have seen a double-digit decline, and some of them have already entered the bear market zone.
  
• In this climate, should you continue your investments and SIPs? Here’s what the experts have to say.
  

Stock markets around the world have come under tremendous pressure as exploding inflation, rising interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine war have stopped the post-Covid bull rally in its tracks.

The S&P 500 index with a market cap of over $38 trillion is already in the bear market zone, and the benchmark Nifty 50 and Sensex are eerily close to the bear market territory.


Note: As of 11 a.m., June 14, 2022

Of these, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are already being ruled by bears. And as you can see, the Nifty 50 and Sensex are ‘two days of selloff away’ from the bear market.

The steep selloff in stock markets across the world can be attributed to multiple factors this time – unlike in the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 when the housing market collapse was the single biggest contributor.


This time, the unholy trifecta of exploding inflation, surging interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine war have together contributed to erosion of wealth across the spectrum – be it a Fortune 500 company or a daily wage earner in any country.

What exactly is a bear market and how long will it last?

Whenever a stock or an index falls 20% from its recent or all-time high for a sustained period of time, it is said to be in a bear market.

Bear markets could accompany an overall recession in the economy, which is bad for everyone.

These markets can last from anywhere between a few weeks to a few years, although the average is said to be around 18 months. In the worst-case scenarios, bear markets have lasted as long as over 5 years.

Here’s why you should continue investing in bear markets

Simply put, no one can ever predict when the markets will hit their bottoms and peaks. If timing the market were possible, there would be no arbitrage opportunities and there would be multi-millionaires everywhere.

But since that is next to impossible, the next best thing that investors can do is sticking to investment goals and continuing SIPs, instead of withdrawing money and waiting for the next bull run.


“Investors should continue investments and SIPs since it is not possible to time the markets. Bear markets provide an opportunity for investors to reduce their average prices, too,” Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at WealthMills Securities told Business Insider India.

Echoing similar sentiments, Ambareesh Baliga, an investment analyst, said that the investors will win in the long-term, and these bull and bear markets are just phases.

“Investors should continue their SIPs, no doubt, because we are talking about the long-term economic growth of India. There is no way that the markets can underperform,” he said.

If anything, bear markets give you an opportunity to reduce the average price of your investments – if you can get something at a discount, it is always a bonus.

Disclaimer: This article is not investment advice, it is for informational purposes only. Readers are suggested to do their own due diligence before investing.

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