Usually share markets are relatively calm and so don’t generate a lot of attention. But periodically they tumble and generate headlines like “billions wiped off share market” & “biggest share plunge since...” Sometimes it ends quickly and the market heads back up again and is forgotten about. But once every so often share markets keep falling for a while. Sometimes the falls are foreseeable (usually after a run of strong gains), but rarely are they forecastable (which requires a call as to timing and magnitude)...despite many claiming otherwise. In my career, I have seen many periodic share market tumbles.

And so it is again - with share markets starting the year on a sour note and despite a few bounces along the way having several legs down with another sharp fall over the last two weeks. From their all-time highs to their lows in the past week US shares have now fallen 24%, global shares have fallen 21% and Australian shares have fallen 16%. Always the drivers are slightly different. But as Mark Twain is said to have said “history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes”, and so it is with share market falls. This means that from the point of basic investment principles, it’s hard to say anything new. Which is why this note may sound familiar with “key things for investors to keep in mind”, but at times like this they are worth reiterating.

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