One of the toughest realizations newer investors will eventually make is that stock market corrections occur frequently. Since the beginning of 1950, there have been 39 separate double-digit percentage declines in the broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), based on data provided by Yardeni Research. That's a double-digit decline, on average, every 1.87 years.

But Wall Street doesn't adhere to averages. Downdrafts can occur anytime and without warning. Last year, the S&P 500, iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), and growth-stock-focused Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) all plunged into respective bear markets and produced their worst full-year returns in more than a decade.

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com