Worst Bear Markets

Worst Stock Market Crash: 1930-1932
This is the grand daddy of them all. Investors lost 86% of their money over this 813 day beast. This market crash combined with the 1929 crash, makes up the Great Depression.

If you had $1000 on 9/3/1929 (beginning of the 4th worst crash, it would have gone down to a whopping $108.14 by July 8th, 1932 (end of the worst crash) or an 89.2% loss. To recover from a loss like that, you would have to watch your portfolio go up 825%! The full recovery didn't take place until 1954, 22 years later!

Date Started: 4/17/1930
Date Ended: 7/8/1932
Total Days: 813
Starting DJIA: 294.07
Ending DJIA: 41.22
Total Loss: -86.0%

7th Worst Stock Market Crash: 1973-1974
Key events: Vietnam war, Watergate scandal

Date Started: 1/11/1973
Date Ended: 12/06/1974
Total Days: 694
Starting DJIA: 1051.70
Ending DJIA: 577.60
Total Loss: -45.1%

10th Worst Stock Market Crash: 2000-2002
Key events: Tech bubble bursting, September 11th terrorist attack

Date Started: 1/15/2000
Date Ended: 10/9/2002
Total Days: 999
Starting DJIA: 11,792.98
Ending DJIA: 7,286.27
Total Loss: -37.8%

This chart shows the cycle of emotions people go through when investing in the markets. Investing can be a highly emotional experience. This outline of market emotions can help you take a rational approach to maximizing market fluctuations. In the end, by anticipating and understanding the series of emotions that you may experience, you’ll be better equipped to tolerate and benefit from market fluctuations.