The stock market's return over the next decade is likely to be well below historical norms. The original article has been edited here by munKNEE.com for length (?) and clarity ([ ])So says Mark Hulbert in a recently penned article discussing the ?Eight Best Predictors Of The Stock Market? …as outlined below:
Hubert said: "To illustrate the bearish story told by each of the above indicators, consider the projected 10-year returns to which these indicators' current levels translate. - The most bearish projection of any of them was that the S&P 500 would produce a 10-year total return of 3.9 percentage points annualized below inflation. The most bullish was 3.6 points above inflation.
- The most accurate of the indicators I studied was created by the anonymous author of the blog Philosophical Economics. It is now as bearish as it was right before the 2008 financial crisis, projecting an inflation-adjusted S&P 500 total return of just 0.8 percentage point above inflation. Ten-year Treasuries can promise you that return with far less risk.?
According to various tests of statistical significance, each of these indicators' track records is significant at the 95% confidence level that statisticians often use when assessing whether a pattern is genuine…" The chart below, courtesy of Michael Lebowitz, shows the standard deviation from the long-term mean of the ?Buffett Indicator,? or market capitalization to GDP, Tobin's Q, and Shiller's CAPE compared to forward real total returns over the next 10-years…
Let me explain what ?low forward returns? does and does not mean. - It does NOT mean the stock market will have annual rates of return of sub-3% each year over the next 10-years.
- It DOES mean the stock market will have stellar gains in some years, a big crash somewhere in between, or several smaller ones, and the average return over the decade will be low.
This is shown in the table and chart below which compares a 7% annual return (as often promised) to a series of positive returns with a loss, or two, along the way. (Note: the annual average return without the crashes is 7% annually also.)
From current valuation levels, two-percent forward rates of return are a real possibility. As shown, all it takes is a correction, or crash, along the way to make it a reality. The problem with using valuation measures, as Mark Hulbert discusses, is that there can be a long period between a valuation warning and a market correction. This was a point made by Eddy Elfenbein from Crossing Wall Street, who said: - ?For the record, I'm a bit skeptical of these metrics. Sure, they're interesting to look at, but I try to place them within a larger framework.
- It's not terribly hard to find a measure that shows an overvalued market and then use a long time period to show the market has performed below average during your defined overvalued period. That's easy. The difficulty is in timing the market.
- Even if you know the market is overpriced, that doesn't tell you much about how to invest today.?
He is correct so, if valuation measures tell you a problem is coming, but don't tell you what to do, then Wall Street's answer is simply to ?do nothing.? After all, you will eventually recover the losses?.right? The post These 8 Measures Say A Crash Is Coming - But When? appeared first on munKNEE.com. |