Buying stocks during a bear market can yield spectacular returns. For instance, the bear market brought on by the Great Recession cratered the S&P 500 by 56.8%, from peak to trough. But smart investors knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy.

The index closed on March 9, 2009, at its bottom of 676.53. The ensuing bull market rally lifted the S&P 500 to its peak of 3,386 11 years later, on Feb. 19, 2020. Steadfast buy-and-hold investors would've achieved a remarkable 400.5% gain just by buying the index.

Buying an index is not a bad idea. Still, bear markets allow investors to buy beaten-down shares of great companies, outperform the market, and accumulate phenomenal wealth.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com