I was reading a marketing piece from one of the mass market financial advisors. His argument was that since the average recession since the Great Depression has been 21 months and since the stock market has been up an average of 45% twelve months later and since this recession is now officially 19 months old, then it must be time to get fully invested in stocks. Averages can be so misleading!

Over the same period, recessions have ranged from 3 months (twice) to 62 months. Credit-driven recessions, like this one, tend to be longer than inventory-driven or trauma-driven recessions. Also, the average bounce-back of 45% twelve months later has been declining markedly. The first 3 recessions bounced-back an average of 72% while the last 3 only bounced back 25% on average.

Averages can be so misleading! Like every investor, every recession is unique and should be evaluated individually!