Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of May 13, 2014?

Article Excerpt

I’ve mentioned here, and in recent letters to our portfolio-management clients, that I’m optimistic about the stock market’s direction. In fact, I suspect that a secular bull market began in March 2009, when the market began rising after the recession. Secular bull markets take a variety of shapes. Stock prices still go up and down, of course. But the key difference with a secular bull market is that each new upward thrust takes the market to higher peaks than those of the preceding rise. The post-World War Two market rise ran from the late 1940s through the late 1960s. It was a highly rewarding period for investors who followed a conservative, fundamentally based approach like ours. Another secular bull market took place from the late 1980s through around 2007. It was also a profitable time for investors who followed an approach like ours. I think we have entered another period like that. It could last till the end of the decade. You’ll still…