If a Bear Market Is Coming, History Says This 1 Investing Decision Will Make or Break Your Portfolio

Key Points It’s a question of when -- not if -- the next bear market will happen. The market rewards people who stay invested during those downturns. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › Investing in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) via a low-cost exchange-traded fund ( ETF ), like Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) , is a sound long-term strategy. The benchmark index has generated an average annual total return of about 10% since its inception in 1957, outperforming most individual stocks and actively managed funds over the long term. But since 1957, there have been ten official bear markets -- peak-to-trough declines of at least 20% -- which occurred every six to seven years.