Opening Statement from October 2015 Intelligent Investor

Opening Statement from October 2015 Intelligent Investor

Originally published on October 7, 2015

Review of the Past 12 Months 

First, let’s summarize our assessment and guidance from the past 12 months. Although we have remained bullish on the US stock market for several years, approximately one year ago we began advising investors to gradually raise cash selectively and on strength. Our rational for this investment strategy was based on our belief that global risks were increasing at a worrisome pace. In short, we identified subtle signs which we believed would represent a new period of global economic risk and heightened volatility in the capital markets. 

For several years we have been forecasting the various stock market corrections as a way for more active investors to add to their returns, all while emphasizing that the most important component of our market forecasts was to focus on how long we felt the bull market would persist...

A few months ago we began recommending investors raise even more cash by selective selling and selling on strength... 

Over the next couple of months the stock market experienced a strong selloff, sending market indices below some important levels of technical support.

Volatility in the capital markets accelerated in June after China’s stock market bubble began to collapse. Investor sentiment nearly fell off a cliff once investors realized the economic problems in China were very real.

In August (August 23, 2015 audio supplement) we...