If you don't know the difference ...... you are in trouble! - Howard Marx
In the late '60s and early '70s if you didn't own the Nifty-Fifty, there was something indescribably wrong with your portfolio - or you.
The Nifty 50 stocks got their notoriety in the bull markets of the 1960s and early 1970s. They became known as "one-decision" stocks because investors were told by individuals such as University of Pennsylvania professor Jeremy Siegel that "they could buy and hold them forever."
In case anyone is interested how the "Nifty 50" fared during the bear markets of 1973-1974;
Blue Chip Performance: 1973-1974
Du Pont -58.4%
Eastman Kodak -62.1%
Exxon -46.9%
Ford Motor -64.8%
General Electric -60.5%
General Motors -71.2%
Goodyear -63.0%
IBM -58.8%
McDonalds -72.4%
Mobil -59.8%
Motorola -54.3%
PepsiCo -67.0%
Philip Morris -50.3%
Polaroid -90.2%
Sears -66.2%
Sony -80.9%
Westinghouse -83.1%
Just to recap;
... as well as;
U.S. Market Capitalization / U.S. GDP exceeded 2.75 while the Historic Norm (not the low) remains 0.78 - i.e. ~70% below current levels(!!)
www.hussmanfunds.com
U.S. Margin Debt / U.S. GDP has surpassed all previous records (by a very wide margin!), not only by nominal measures but also in relative terms!
www.hussmanfunds.com