Banking

Markets usually call those instincts fear and greed. Fear protects what we already have. Greed, unfairly named, is the desire to improve one’s future. Years of accumulated capital become today’s rabbit. A rising market offers the deer. Investors naturally want both. Since markets do not allow certainty and upside together, they look for a third magical option: market timing. Stay invested while the market rises, sell at the highs, and buy back after the market has reached the bottom. The rabbit remains safe. The deer is captured. Problem solved. Except it isn’t.

Market timing demands the opposite of human behaviour. Near a market peak, nobody rings a bell. Everything looks reassuring. Near a bottom, every headline looks frightening and every decline seems to predict another. It asks investors to sell when every instinct says stay, and buy when every instinct screams run. That is why the promise is seductive, but the execution rare.

Markets often fall for different reasons — wars, financial crises, or pandemics — but the question investors ask remains the same: Should we worry or see it as a buying opportunity? The recent decline of about 12% from the January 2026 peak has raised similar concerns among investors.

History suggests such declines are normal. Since 1980, markets have risen in 38 of the 46 calendar years, yet they have experienced 10% or more corrections in 41 of those years. In fact, the average intra-year fall has been around 20%, even in years when markets ultimately ended higher. Despite these frequent declines, equities have delivered about 15% annual returns over the long term, roughly doubling investments every five years.

Periods of sharp market falls often create discomfort for investors, causing them to forget the long-term perspective. However, staying invested during such declines is precisely what creates long-term wealth. Historically, markets have delivered their strongest returns after major corrections.

While some investors attempt to exit during crises and re-enter later, this strategy rarely works well. Markets often recover before confidence returns, and missing just a few of the best recovery days can significantly reduce long-term returns.

Truth be told, the sensible approach is simple: decide your equity allocation based on a sound financial plan and stick to it, even when markets feel uncomfortable. Over time, discipline and patience do the heavy lifting