Bear markets have on average lasted less than a year, so position now for an eventual recovery

WITH global stocks in a bear market, fearful headlines from Singapore to San Francisco warn of worse to come. More downside may well remain — bad news won’t vanish.

But this isn’t the time to sell. Instead, position for an unusual, unexpected form of recovery. Big growth stocks — largely absent in Singapore — should lead it. To see this, you must fathom what is demonstrable but unexpected by most.

A global bear market — made official on Jun 16 when world stocks crossed the -20 per cent threshold from January’s high — sounds scary. But it shouldn’t.