Be Careful with Bears

A saying that we refer to often is “avoid the noise.” The chart below is from late 2020, but one would suspect it could be even worse in many instances today. The study, completed by JP Morgan, observes a number of well-known names in the financial industry that tend to be outspoken in the media, often with very negative views. JP Morgan measured the impact on an investor that shifted out of equities to bonds, at the time of the negative comment. As evidenced in the trendlines below, there is tremendous value destruction for any investor that has followed their respective bearish leads.

Obviously, bearish periods occur but no one can consistently predict when that will be. The names above and many others use their voices to try and sell and/or entertain. Be very careful when listening to such consistently one-sided views.