As the S&P 500 enters bull market territory, here's what to consider before you invest (2024)

FAQs

As the S&P 500 enters bull market territory, here's what to consider before you invest? ›

The greater a portfolio's exposure to the S&P 500 index, the more the ups and downs of that index will affect its balance. That is why experts generally recommend a 60/40 split between stocks and bonds. That may be extended to 70/30 or even 80/20 if an investor's time horizon allows for more risk.

Investors who want to benefit from a bull market should buy early in order to take advantage of rising prices and sell them when they've reached their peak. Although it is hard to determine when the bottom and peak will take place, most losses will be minimal and are usually temporary.

You cannot directly invest in the index itself. You can buy individual stocks of companies in the S&P 500, or buy an S&P 500 index fund or ETF. Index funds typically carry less risk than individual stocks.

Lack of Global Diversification

The S&P 500 is all US-domiciled companies that over the last ~40 years have accounted for ~50% of all global stocks. By just owning the S&P 500 you miss out on almost half of the global opportunity set which is another ~10,000 public companies.

Is it better to invest in a bull market or a bear market? In general, bull markets are a better time to invest. Yes, stock prices are higher, but it's an overall less risky time to invest. You'll have a greater chance of selling assets for a higher value than when you bought them.

Safe investment: In the long run, index mutual funds tend to rise over a period of time. So, investing in index mutual funds is considered safer vis-à-vis other investment options. "Index funds typically excel during narrow bull runs or in falling markets but might underperform in broad-based, secular rallies.

The good news is that historically, there's never necessarily a bad time to invest -- as long as you keep a long-term outlook. For example, during the Great Recession, the S&P 500 bottomed out in March 2009.

Our recommendation for the best overall S&P 500 index fund is the Fidelity 500 Index Fund. With a 0.015% expense ratio, it's the cheapest on our list. And it doesn't have a minimum initial investment requirement, sales loads or trading fees. Over the last 10 years, FXAIX has returned an annualized 12.02%.

What if I invested $1000 in S&P 500 10 years ago? ›

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in February 2014 would be worth $5,971.20, or a gain of 497.12%, as of February 5, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 178.17% and gold's return of 55.50% over the same time frame.

In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.74%), then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today. That equates to a total return of 120,936%.

Basic Info. S&P 500 10 Year Return is at 180.6%, compared to 174.1% last month and 161.9% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 114.4%.

Both bear markets and bull markets represent tremendous money-making opportunities. The key to generating profits is to use strategies and ideas that fit the conditions of these markets. That requires consistency, discipline, focus, and the ability to take advantage of fear and greed.

Characteristics of a bull market

Increase in investor confidence: With stock prices increasing, investors are convinced they'll keep doing so, so they keep buying. This further increases stock prices due to supply and demand.

What is the most Bullish signal? One can use many indicators and candlestick patterns to identify a bullish signal. For example, in Moving Average Convergence Divergence uses two EMAs to identify changes in market momentum, and if the MACD line goes above the signal line, it is considered to be a bullish signal.

After a spectacular 2023, stocks are off to the races again in 2024. YTD, the Dow is up 2.72%, the S&P is up 7.28%, and the Nasdaq is up 6.41%. (And that's on top of last year's 13.7%, 24.2%, and 43.4% respectively.)