Best Age and Worst Age for a Bear Market

Bear markets are inevitable but unpredictable in timing.  It's best to expect them and prepare to protect from or benefit from them depending or your age.

Best Age

In one's twenties, making it a great time to invest in a stock market index of the S&P.  Once can confidently stay invested in the inevitable bear markets that will occur.  Rolling 20 year returns on S&P 500 since 1926 have always been positive.  Roll 10 year returns have been positive except for the years starting with the Great Recession and the Dot Com Bubble.

Worst Age

+/- 5 years from retirement.   The sequence of market returns can significantly impact how long retirement funds will last.  Retire during a bear market and needing to withdraw funds will cause one to run out of money much sooner than someone who starts withdrawing during a bull market.

Disclosure:  I retired in 2007, just before the Great Recession.  I didn't know about the worst age recommendation.  Luckily, I had enough cash and CDs that matured during the first 5 years, such that I did not have to sell equities to cover living expenses. 

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This is not financial, retirement nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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