Are you worried yet?
Does the fact that we've come roaring off the market bottom bother you?
Does the really severe recession we've been in with its banking crisis, government takeover of companies, and near-double-digit unemployment make you think that this time, it really is different?
John Mauldin believes it is. In a column written last June, he outlined several reasons why he believes that, why he thinks we are going to reset to a "new normal," one that involves lower consumer spending and a longer-than-usual recovery.
He could be right. Japan's economy, held up by many as an example of what we might be headed toward, has gone essentially nowhere for many years. The Nikkei index is actually down, a lot, over the past 10 and 20 years. More than 40% and 70%, respectively, in case you're interested.
However.
I have a fundamental problem with arguments pinned upon the phrase: "This time it's different."
How it's been "different"
When I first started investing nearly 10 years ago, people were using that phrase to justify investing in Internet companies without earnings. Luckily I stayed away from those, but I did buy shares of Cisco and Intel
The last few years, we watched housing prices go up and up and up. Models used by companies like Bank of America
One more. Prior to the crash in commodity prices in mid-2008, we were told the place to invest was in commodity companies such as fertilizer makers Agrium or Mosaic
Do you notice a pattern here? Each time investors believed that phrase, they got burned. And there's no reason to believe that the same won't hold true on the downside.
According to Robert Arnott, chairman of the asset management firm Research Affiliates, "The words 'This time it's different' are always a little alarming because they are used to justify poor investment choices." The late Sir John Templeton called them, "The four most expensive words in the English language." And he should know: He lived through, and invested during, a lot of periods that could be called "different."
Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose
Sure, the Japanese market has been a basket case over a long period. But does that mean every company was terrible? Honda Motor, for instance, is up nearly 500% over the past 20 years, with an early 2007 peak performance of just more than 700%. And that's neither an obscure company, nor the only example.
My colleague Ilan Moscovitz pointed out that since the last recession, an investment in Apple
Mauldin could be right. Maybe this time it really is different. But as those examples show you, if you stop investing, you miss out on chances like these. Our job as investors is to try to find companies that perform well and that we can feel comfortable investing in.
One such, a recommendation of Motley Fool Stock Advisor, is Amazon.com
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Jim Mueller owns shares of Apple and Agrium, but none of the others mentioned. Apple, Amazon, and priceline are Stock Advisor selections. Intel is an Inside Value selection. The Fool's disclosure policy is probably no different from the last time you read it, but you might want to check.
