Why I Bought Shares of Walmart and Target
Let me first be very clear about one thing: The coronavirus pandemic is no Great Recession of 2008-09. While it is already wreaking havoc on what just a few months ago appeared to be a resurgent global economy, the financial situation in 2008-09 was driven by structural issues and excess within the economy itself.
While COVID-19 is exposing that there are financial issues -- soaring corporate and government debt, global supply chain fragility, and inequality that means the masses remain underprepared for times of crisis -- the spread of the infectious disease is an external disruptor versus an internal systemic one.
But enough of the existential, let's talk brass tacks. While the situation is different now, the old financial crisis investor playbook can still be dusted off and searched through for potential strategies related to the current situation. One of those strategies that worked well for myself and others who rode out the last severe downturn was investing in big box stores, namely Walmart (NYSE: WMT), and to a lesser extent Target (NYSE: TGT). Walmart stock in particular massively outperformed the stock market downturn in 2008-09 and helped investors return to making money quicker than the market overall did.
Source Fool.com
