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The Anatomy of a Bear Market

You can always argue that the stock market will make a new high at some time in the future. But will that be in six months? A year? Five years? A decade? If the stock market is stagnant, you can probably find alternative investments that provide a better return. That's a reason to sell. And if you think the market is going down, why would you willingly take that ride down even if you know it will eventually come up again? Doesn't it make more sense to re-enter at a point closer to the bottom? Yes, it's hard to pick the bottom, but if you're any good at investing, you should have a sense of whether the bottom is very far away or getting close. If you don't have that kind of instinct, then buy index funds and stop wasting your time.