For example, during the great financial crisis, I spent an inordinate amount of time as a journalist talking to so-called experts about when they thought the stock market would rise or fall. Let's say you misunderstood the market cycle as much as possible, but still decided to become a long-term stock investor – and actually stuck with it, despite huge losses. This would mean buying at the market peak of October 9, 2007. But what is the right stock or stocks to buy for the next 15 years, and what is the optimal time to buy or sell? This market peak means a lot to many people.

Source: New York Times January 20, 2024 10:40 UTC