Investors may want to prepare as if it were 1929, 2000, or even 2008.

That’s because today’s market is eerily similar.

Right now, the Dow Jones, the NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 are at all-time highs. All as investor optimism soars, sending valuations to unbelievable, unjustifiable highs. Even with trade war issues, geopolitical tension, and economic issues, investors have shrugged it all off.

Unfortunately, they’re acting just like investors did before the major crashes of 1929, 2000, and 2008. And unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time before it happens again.

Between 1923 and 1929, the Dow Jones rallied about 300%.

Investors believed stocks could only go up. Speculation forced stocks to unbelievable highs with unjustifiable valuations. Then, it all fell apart. Then, between 1929 and 1932, the Dow Jones lost 86% of its value.

Unfortunately, many weren’t prepared.

In 2000, dot-com optimism sent the Dow Jones screaming higher to unjustifiable valuations. That fell apart, and saw the Dow wiped out. Again, unfortunately, many weren’t prepared.

In 2008, rampant speculation sent the Dow Jones to a high of 14,038 on the heels of a housing boom. Americans were buying homes they couldn’t afford. Stocks were exploding on economic optimism and unjustifiable valuations. 

Then it all fell apart. The Dow Jones would sink to 6,500. 

Many weren’t prepared.

It’s happening again now. And again, many aren’t prepared.

Also worrisome is how overextended the Shiller P/E has become at 38.55. It’s now at its second-highest peak in history and is second only to the massive dotcom crash in 2000. 

Instead of being unprepared for the drop, prepare by betting on volatility.

We can do that by using:

ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY): The ETF was designed to match two times (2x) the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. 

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures (VXX): The VXX provides exposure to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index.

ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY): ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF provides long exposure to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index, which measures the returns of a portfolio of monthly VIX futures contracts with a weighted average of one month to expiration.

Sincerely,

Ian Cooper