Rampant inflation and rising interest rates have taken a heavy toll on the stock market this year. The S&P 500 is currently 18.5% off its high, hovering on the edge of bear-market territory. Losses of that magnitude can make any investor nervous, but the worst part is the uncertainty. When will the market recover? Where can you safely invest your money?

Unfortunately, many factors have fueled the inflation feeding the current downturn. Those include pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions, federal stimulus programs, and Russia's war on Ukraine. Untangling the impact of each variable and trying to decipher an end date is impossible. The best thing we can do is look to the past for guidance.

Let's dive in.

A brief history of bear markets

The S&P 500 has slipped into a bear market nine times in the last six decades, or about once every 6.7 years. We don't have an end date for the current downturn, but we can glean some information from the previous eight. For instance, the average time-to-bottom was 450 days and the average decline was 38%.

For context, the S&P 500 last hit a new high on Jan. 3, 2022, which was 172 days ago at the time of this writing. In other words, if the current bear market falls precisely in line with the average, we have another 278 days -- or about nine months -- before we see the bottom. That being said, duration and severity vary dramatically on a case-by-case basis. One bear market hit bottom in just over 30 days, but the dot-com-crash bear market didn't hit bottom for over 900 days.

However, there is one thing all of those bear markets had in common: All losses were eventually erased by a bull market. In other words, no matter how far the index fell or how long the downturn lasted, the S&P 500 always rebounded and hit new highs.

While you wait for that rebound to get underway, here are two stocks that can help you feel safer about your investments.

1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Building on that "always rebounded" idea, an S&P 500 index fund is one of the safest places to invest money right now, and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -0.84%) is a great option.

This fund is an ETF, or exchange-traded fund, meaning it acts much like a mutual fund but can be bought and sold like other stocks. It's designed to track the performance of the S&P 500, an index that comprises 500 of the largest U.S. companies. That means you benefit from instant diversification, including exposure to blue-chip stocks like Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia. Better yet, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.03%, meaning you would pay just $3 per year on a $10,000 portfolio, and you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing the benchmark has recovered from every previous bear market.

As a caveat, the S&P 500 is currently down 18% from its high, but it could still fall much further. Remember, the index fell by an average of 38% during bear markets over the past six decades.

2. Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

If that sounds like too much volatility, you may find the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM 0.84%) a better option.

This ETF tracks the performance of 443 companies characterized by higher-than-average dividend yields. Numerous studies have shown that dividend stocks tend to outperform non-dividend-paying stocks, simply because generating enough cash to pay shareholders often signals a very healthy business. In this case, while the S&P 500 is down 18%, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF is down just 10% from its high.

The expense ratio sits at 0.06%, meaning you would pay $6 per year on a $10,000 portfolio, but with a dividend yield of 2.72%, a $10,000 portfolio would generate $272 in passive income each year. Even so, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF has still underperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years. But if you want less volatile exposure to the stock market, this index fund looks like a smart place to put your money.