What If You Stayed?
An Interactive Story
What If You Stayed?
Three market crashes. Two choices. One powerful lesson.
Since 2000, the S&P 500 has faced three gut-wrenching crashes.
Each time, millions of investors panicked and sold everything.
Here's what that cost them.
The Dot-Com Crash
March 2000 – October 2002● Stayed invested: $10,000
● Sold & re-entered 1yr later: $10,000
The market eventually recovered. But it took five years to reach its previous high.
Many investors who sold never got back in.
And then came something far worse.
The Financial Crisis
October 2007 – March 2009● Stayed invested: $10,000
● Sold & re-entered 1yr later: $10,000
What followed was the longest bull run in history.
Eleven years of growth. A new generation of investors entered the market.
And then, in a matter of weeks...
The COVID Crash
February – March 2020● Stayed invested: $10,000
● Sold & re-entered 1yr later: $10,000
Now let's zoom out.
What if someone invested $10,000 in January 2000 and experienced all three crashes?
The Full Picture
$10,000 invested in January 2000● Stayed invested: $10,000
● Sold at every crash: $10,000
Your Numbers
Adjust the sliders to see how panic-selling at every crash could have affected your portfolio.
Cost of panic-selling
$0
Here's what your portfolio would be worth today:
If you stayed invested
$0
If you panic sold
$0
The market has always recovered.
The question isn't whether it will drop.
It's whether you'll be there when it comes back.
