Bear markets feel awful in the moment and are normal over long investing lives.
Direct answer
A bear market is a prolonged period when prices fall around 20 percent or more from recent highs, often alongside pessimism and economic worries. A bull market is the opposite. During a bear market, long-term investors usually focus on their plan, their emergency fund and avoiding panic.
Common causes
- Economic slowdowns
- Rising interest rates
- Financial crises
- Major shocks
How to cope
- Remind yourself of your time horizon.
- Keep an emergency fund so you are not a forced seller.
- Rebalance if your plan says so.
- Avoid borrowing to invest.
- Limit news checking.
Where Teyro fits
Teyro's How to Understand Investment Risk course turns this into short lessons you can play in a few minutes a day. It has 50 lessons, and you can start free.
The bottom line
Bear markets are part of investing. This is general education, not advice.
This is general education, not personal financial advice.
