History Tells Us To Hold Our Nerve See Stock Market Records Since 1984
Published / Last Updated on 10/02/2023
When you look at the FTSE 100 periods of growth and losses from 1984 to 2023, history tells us to hold our nerve and invest for the medium term 5 years + and the longer term 10 years +.
Usually, although there have been difficult periods, stock markets across the globe will usually outperform all other asset classes over the medium and longer term.
You may already be aware that we take a Contrarian view of going against the market ‘norm’ but you have to be brave. Buy low, sell high is what we should all be doing but it is difficult to time the market.
Watch: Contrarian Investors
- Drip feed in when markets are high or switch funds to other sectors that are still in recovery.
- Invest fully when markets are low compared to their year or record highs.
This is not an exact science as there appear to be more market shock events now.
Invest for the medium to longer term and hold your nerve.
|
Year |
Year Start Price |
Year End Price |
Year Gain or Loss |
Percent Gain or Loss (1 Year) |
Percent Gain or Loss (5 Years) |
Percent Gain or Loss (10 Years) |
Market Highs and Lows |
|
1984 |
1000.0 |
1232.2 |
232.2 |
23.22% |
|
|
Record High |
|
1985 |
1232.2 |
1412.6 |
180.4 |
14.64% |
|
|
Record High |
|
1986 |
1412.6 |
1679.0 |
266.4 |
18.86% |
|
|
Record High |
|
1987 |
1679.0 |
1713.9 |
34.9 |
2.08% |
|
|
Record High & Crash |
|
1988 |
1713.9 |
1793.1 |
79.2 |
4.62% |
79.31% |
|
Record High |
|
1989 |
1793.1 |
2422.7 |
629.6 |
35.11% |
96.62% |
|
Record High |
|
1990 |
2422.7 |
2143.5 |
-279.2 |
-11.52% |
51.74% |
|
Iraq Invaded Kuwait |
|
1991 |
2143.5 |
2493.1 |
349.6 |
16.31% |
48.49% |
|
Record High |
|
1992 |
2493.1 |
2846.5 |
353.4 |
14.18% |
66.08% |
|
Record High |
|
1993 |
2846.5 |
3418.4 |
571.9 |
20.09% |
90.64% |
241.84% |
Record High |
|
1994 |
3418.4 |
3065.5 |
-352.9 |
-10.32% |
26.53% |
148.78% |
Bond Market Crash After Interest Rate Rises |
|
1995 |
3065.5 |
3689.3 |
623.8 |
20.35% |
72.12% |
161.17% |
Record High |
|
1996 |
3689.3 |
4118.5 |
429.2 |
11.63% |
65.20% |
145.29% |
Record High |
|
1997 |
4118.5 |
5135.5 |
1017.0 |
24.69% |
80.41% |
199.64% |
Record High |
|
1998 |
5135.5 |
5882.6 |
747.1 |
14.55% |
72.09% |
228.07% |
Record High |
|
1999 |
5882.6 |
6930.2 |
1047.6 |
17.81% |
126.07% |
186.05% |
Record High |
|
2000 |
6930.2 |
6222.5 |
-707.7 |
-10.21% |
68.66% |
190.30% |
Dotcom Bubble |
|
2001 |
6222.5 |
5217.4 |
-1005.1 |
-16.15% |
26.68% |
109.27% |
9/11 World Trades Centre Attack, 2nd Iraq War |
|
2002 |
5217.4 |
3940.4 |
-1277.0 |
-24.48% |
-23.27% |
38.43% |
Accounting Discrepancy Scandals |
|
2003 |
3940.4 |
4476.9 |
536.5 |
13.62% |
-23.90% |
30.96% |
|
|
2004 |
4476.9 |
4814.3 |
337.4 |
7.54% |
-30.53% |
57.05% |
|
|
2005 |
4814.3 |
5618.8 |
804.5 |
16.71% |
-9.70% |
52.30% |
|
|
2006 |
5618.8 |
6220.8 |
602.0 |
10.71% |
19.23% |
51.05% |
|
|
2007 |
6220.8 |
6456.9 |
236.1 |
3.80% |
63.86% |
25.73% |
|
|
2008 |
6456.9 |
4434.2 |
-2022.7 |
-31.33% |
-0.95% |
-24.62% |
Credit Crunch Crisis |
|
2009 |
4434.2 |
5412.9 |
978.7 |
22.07% |
12.43% |
-21.89% |
|
|
2010 |
5412.9 |
5899.9 |
487.0 |
9.00% |
5.00% |
-5.18% |
|
|
2011 |
5899.9 |
5572.3 |
-327.6 |
-5.55% |
-10.42% |
6.80% |
EU Debt Crisis, Bailouts for Ireland and Portugal |
|
2012 |
5572.3 |
5897.8 |
325.5 |
5.84% |
-8.66% |
49.68% |
|
|
2013 |
5897.8 |
6749.1 |
851.3 |
14.43% |
52.21% |
50.75% |
|
|
2014 |
6749.1 |
6566.1 |
-183.0 |
-2.71% |
21.30% |
36.39% |
China Slowdown and Quantitative Easing Tapered Back |
|
2015 |
6566.1 |
6242.3 |
-323.8 |
-4.93% |
5.80% |
11.10% |
China Slowdown, Greek Default and Quantitative Easing Stopped in US |
|
2016 |
6242.3 |
7142.8 |
900.5 |
14.43% |
28.18% |
14.82% |
Record High |
|
2017 |
7142.8 |
7687.8 |
544.9 |
7.63% |
30.35% |
19.06% |
Record High |
|
2018 |
7687.8 |
6728.1 |
-959.6 |
-12.48% |
-0.31% |
51.73% |
Record High But Tight Monetary Policy, Economic Slowdown, US/China Trade War |
|
2019 |
6728.1 |
7542.4 |
814.3 |
12.10% |
14.87% |
39.34% |
|
|
2020 |
7542.4 |
6460.5 |
-1081.9 |
-14.34% |
3.50% |
9.50% |
Covid-19 and Lockdowns |
|
2021 |
6460.5 |
7384.5 |
924.0 |
14.30% |
3.38% |
32.52% |
|
|
2022 |
7384.5 |
7451.7 |
67.2 |
0.91% |
-3.07% |
26.35% |
|
|
2023 YTD |
7451.7 |
7949.6 |
497.9 |
6.68% |
18.15% |
17.79% |
Record High |
|
FTSE 100 Index Historical Index. Source: London Stock Exchange. |
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