Quiz!
In which ways was 2020 different than other big declines (e.g. 2008 & 2000)? (There may be multiple correct answers.)
- It was deeper.
- It was shorter.
- It was scarier.
- It was longer.
- The turnaround came before economic improvement.
- The government & central bank support were bigger than usual.
The Surprises & The Expected of 2020
The pandemic of 2020 was shocking to investors and humans in general. It involved substantial uncertainty, leading people to predict years of pain for stock investments. While the split between surprises & the expected will vary depending on the reader, below is my split.
Surprises:
- While the key actions to contain the pandemic were known early on (looking at some Asian countries), the magnitude of unwillingness to take these actions seriously in other countries was greater than I expected, leading to a much worse result than possible otherwise. While stocks recovered rapidly, they could have bottomed higher, with fewer lives lost on the way.
Expected:
- The decline was shorter than typical, because it didn’t come from a position of economic leverage and euphoria.
- When panic took hold in March, the Fed repeated its 2008 announcement, being prepared to do whatever it would take to support the economy. Other countries operated similarly.
- The turnaround came as soon as the level of uncertainty diminished, far before the economy improved, as typical.
- While the economy is still hurting badly, it started the turnaround much earlier than in prior declines, thanks to the cause being a shock and not leverage.
- Many people said about this decline that it’s different, and will last much longer than past declines. Fortunately, this prediction failed, as typical when made at past times of uncertainty.
The specifics of every market decline are different, creating a need to prepare for declines of varying lengths & depths, worse than we experienced before. While the specifics vary, there are some truths that follow through the cycles, especially some level of correlation between starting valuations (e.g. Price/Book) of risky assets and the severity of the decline. With the right planning, whether cash set aside or low spending relative to liquid assets, there is no need to label any case as “this time is different”. The more prepared you are, the stronger you can be going through scary times, with discipline to avoid panic selling at the depth of the decline.
Quiz Answer:
In which ways was 2020 different than other big declines (e.g. 2008 & 2000)? (There may be multiple correct answers.)
- It was deeper.
- It was shorter. [Correct Answer]
- It was scarier. [Correct Answer]
- It was longer.
- The turnaround came before economic improvement.
- The government & central bank support were bigger than usual. [Correct Answer]
Explanations:
- This decline was shallower than the other two declines.
- This decline was dramatically shorter than the other two declines.
- While every decline is scary, this was scarier, because we haven’t seen such a widespread pandemic in our lifetimes.
- This decline was dramatically shorter than the other two declines.
- In most declines, the turnaround comes far ahead of the economic turnaround. It comes from a combination of government & central banks (e.g. the Fed) support along with an expectation for a future turnaround.
- Both 2008 and 2020 saw very big government & central bank support, but this year’s support was even bigger.
See article for more explanations.
Disclosures Including Backtested Performance Data