Gordon Pape
Feb. 29, 2020
It’s crisis time again!
Every few years, fear overcomes greed and stock investors hit the sell button.
The triggers can be diverse as sudden collapse of a hedge fund to a full-blown financial crisis, such as we experienced in 2008.
This time around it’s the novel coronavirus. People are increasingly worried that health care workers can’t contain it. If it becomes a pandemic, the result could be thousands of deaths and a devastating blow to the world economy. The final cost of the SARS outbreak in 2003 was an estimated $40 billion. I have seen estimates that this time around the cost could exceed $1 trillion and we could end up in a recession. No one knows.
The stock markets were overdue for a correction even before this new virus emerged from a wild-animal market in Wuhan, China. It’s been 11 years since we’ve seen a bear market and share prices looked bloated, especially in technology companies. But as long as the U.S. economy kept ticking along and job creation was strong, no one seemed concerned.
That’s all changed. Last Monday, the Dow dropped more than 1,000 points, or about 3.5 per cent. An attempt at an early morning rally on Tuesday quickly fizzled out and by Friday, stock markets around the world had plunged to their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, wiping out over $6 trillion in value.
In past columns, I have written about how to prepare for a correction. But that’s history. Now we’re actually in one. So, what to do at this point? Here are some suggestions.
Don’t sell quality. Think back to what happened in the fall of 2008. Even the best companies lost value as the entire market collapsed. But once the bloodletting ended in early March 2009, almost all these stocks came back and eventually went on to new highs. Anyone with some cash available could have doubled their money in a couple of years by investing in blue-chip stocks near the bottom.
Do sell speculative issues. I never recommend buying speculative stocks, but some people can’t resist in the hope of scoring a huge gain. In a buoyant market, that can happen. But when everything is selling off, it’s far less likely. In fact, some borderline companies may go under if things get too bad, leaving you holding an empty bag. Better to take a hit now than to lose it all.
Do keep bonds. Few people thought bonds would do well this year, including me. After last year’s strong gain of almost seven per cent in the FTSE Canadian Universe Bond Index, spurred by falling interest rates, there didn’t seem to be much upside.
But those calculations did not consider the impact on the bond market of something like the novel coronavirus. Investors have been scrambling for safety, pushing yields down and raising bond prices. (Yields and prices move in opposite directions.)
As I write, the FTSE Universe Bond Index is up 3.45 per cent year-to-date, much better than the TSX. Long-term government bonds are ahead 6.15 per cent.
The main exception is high-yield bonds, which are showing only a minimal gain year-to-date. Default risks for marginal companies rise during times of economic stress, putting downward pressure on their bond issues.
Bond ETFs are the best choice for most people.
Do own gold. Like bonds, gold is considered a safe haven in times like these. If you don’t own any and have some cash, add some stocks or ETFs to your portfolio.
Don’t try to time a recovery. We have no way of knowing how long the virus will remain a disruptive force. Some health officials believe the coming of spring and warmer temperatures may slow it down, but that’s an untested theory at this point. If you have some cash to invest, keep it in reserve until the market has moved up 20 per cent from its low. At that point, the recovery should be well established, and you can deploy your cash.
Living through a market correction is never easy, especially one like this where there is so much uncertainty and the stakes are so high in both human and financial terms.
But this too shall pass, the markets will recover, and a new bull will start. Be ready when it does.
This article was written by Gordon Pape from The Toronto Star and was legally licensed by AdvisorStream through the NewsCred publisher network.
