Investing in stocks can be a great way to grow your wealth, but is now a good time to buy? With market volatility and unpredictability, it’s essential to have a long-term perspective and a solid understanding of your risk tolerance and investment timeline. Keywords like stock market, investing, and long-term growth are crucial to consider.
Ask any financial advisor, “Is now a good time to buy stocks?” and chances are, you’ll get the same answer: “It depends.”
Yep. Just two words. But behind those two words are layers of meaning, strategy, and personal circumstance.
They’ll likely follow up with questions:
What’s your risk tolerance?
What’s your investment timeline?
Because here’s the truth — if you have a low tolerance for risk, or you need that money in just a few years, the market might not be your best friend right now. Short-term investing is like trying to predict the weather a month in advance — frustrating and almost always off the mark.
But if you’ve got time — and I mean real time — and you can emotionally and financially ride out the storm of market volatility? Then history shows us something powerful: it’s almost always a good time to invest.
The Unpredictable Terrain of the Trump Era
Let’s rewind for a moment to the Trump era — a period marked by economic turbulence and, frankly, unpredictable policy decisions. One day, the market’s up. The next day? A tweet triggers a sell-off. A prime example: the president’s broad tariff proposals sent shockwaves through the stock market. In the weeks following his inauguration, the S&P 500 plummeted nearly 20%.
But here’s the twist — as Trump softened his stance and economic data stayed surprisingly strong, the market rebounded. Not just a little — it clawed back more than half of those losses. Fast.
This wasn’t a one-off. On a single Monday, after the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day truce on tariffs, major indexes jumped more than 3%. That’s the nature of the market: dramatic falls, followed by surprising recoveries.
So, what does this teach us?
It’s simple: trying to predict short-term movements is a losing game. But understanding long-term patterns? That’s where the real power lies.
What History Tells Us — Loud and Clear
Let’s bring in Jeff Schulze from ClearBridge Investments. On a recent podcast with Franklin Templeton, he dropped a gem of insight.
Over the past 75 years, the market has experienced 34 drawdowns of 10% or more. That’s a lot of dips. But in nearly every case, the S&P 500 delivered positive returns in the following 12 months.
And here’s the kicker:
- When there was no recession? The average return was 14%.
- When there was a recession? Returns were still positive — just not as high.
In other words, the market has a remarkable ability to bounce back. It’s built into its DNA.
But — and this is important — not all market cycles are the same.
The Case for Caution
Let’s not sugarcoat it: there are real reasons to be cautious right now.
For starters, stock valuations have recently reached historic highs. Look at the Shiller P/E ratio — which compares current stock prices to a 10-year average of earnings. Right now, it’s sitting around 33. That’s higher than the peak right before the infamous 1929 crash.
That kind of overvaluation doesn’t necessarily mean a crash is imminent, but it does suggest that future returns may be more modest. Top minds like David Kostin from Goldman Sachs and Mike Wilson from Morgan Stanley are already sounding the alarm: the next decade may not deliver the explosive growth we’ve seen in the past.
Then there’s the concern of stagflation — a toxic blend of rising prices and slowing economic growth. Think 1970s. And yes, it’s back in the investor vocabulary thanks to concerns over trade wars and aggressive tariffs.
But… The Long Game Wins
Despite all of that, one truth continues to echo through time:
Over the long term, the stock market wins.
Let’s look at the S&P 500. Since the peak just before the 2008 financial crisis, it’s up over 240%.
If you were bold — or lucky — enough to invest at the 2009 bottom? You’d be sitting on nearly 700% gains today.
But let’s be honest — no one times the bottom perfectly. Not even the pros.
That’s where dollar-cost averaging comes in.
The Power of Dollar-Cost Averaging
Don’t let the term scare you. Dollar-cost averaging is just a smart, steady strategy. It means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals — regardless of whether the market is up or down.
Let’s say you’ve got $10,000. Instead of dumping it all in at once, you invest $500 every month for 20 months. Some months, stocks will be more expensive. Other months, they’ll be on sale. But over time, you average out your purchase price.
This strategy isn’t flashy. It doesn’t try to predict anything. But it works — especially when the market is volatile.
The goal? Minimize the emotional roller coaster. And avoid the common trap of waiting too long for the “perfect” time to jump in — which, spoiler alert, never comes.
Volatility Is the Price of Admission
Let’s talk about fear for a second. Because it’s real. Watching your portfolio drop 10%, 20%, even 30% — that’s no walk in the park.
But if you want the reward, you have to accept the risk.
Warren Buffett — arguably the most famous investor of our time — once said you should be comfortable with seeing half your investment disappear on paper. Not because it will happen — but because it can.
Why? Because you’re not investing for next week, next month, or even next year. You’re investing for five, ten, twenty years from now. That’s when the market tells its full story.
So if you’re disciplined — if you can tune out the noise, ignore the panic headlines, and keep your eyes on the horizon — then yes, now is a good time to buy.
Final Thoughts: The Market Favors the Patient
The truth is, the market doesn’t care about your emotions. It doesn’t care about the election, or the headlines, or who’s tweeting what. What it does care about is growth, innovation, and human progress over time.
That’s the secret weapon of long-term investors — the recognition that despite the chaos, the world keeps moving forward.
So ask yourself:
- Can you stay calm when others are panicking?
- Can you stay the course when your balance turns red?
- Can you invest not just money, but faith in the future?
Because if you can do that, if you can commit to the long game and stick with it through the ups and downs…
Then yes — not just now, but almost any time… is a good time to invest.
And that’s not just advice. That’s history speaking. Loud and clear.
