I remember calling my parents from college when I heard the stock market had crashed 22.6% in a single day. My father had literally just opened another brokerage firm and even I knew this wouldn’t be good. I remember him telling me that it was the BEST time to open a new firm since they hadn’t brought clients over and built their book up yet. So not many folks were unhappy!
I remember a buddy of mine who traded for a living teaching me about how the whole financial system was broken. The stock market was not trading at the levels that the underlying derivatives suggested and the key providers of liquidity and stability were rendered impotent by this disconnect. The morning after the crash, my buddy showed me how the Dow should have been another few hundred points lower. It was at that moment, he dove in and bought with both hands, selling out by the next day for a year’s worth of gains.
Stocks fell hard on October 19, 2012, but nothing compared to 25 years ago. An equivalent decline would have been almost 3000 points today! Today’s carnage was interesting and I think there is more to come, even if we see a bounce first. A good buying opportunity is coming for those who are patient…
