Simple Truths About Money
5. World events do not destroy stocks.
A basic characteristic of stocks is that they are volatile, they go up and down, sometimes
very quickly. No more so than when there is a crisis. However, in the six months after a crisis after a large drop, the market gained an average of 14% and 18% in the year afterward:
| Crisis | Change in the S&P 500 |
Next Six Months | Next Year |
| Nixon Resignation | -19% in 5 weeks | +30% | +27% |
| Crash of 1987 | -26% in 3 weeks | +7% | +16% |
| Gulf War | -12% in 3 weeks | +11% | +25% |
| September 11th | -12% in 3 weeks | +7% | -17% |