Saturday, December 23, 2023

How many recessions in a lifetime - in a career?

 


A very simple question? How many recessions will an investment professional experience in a lifetime or a career? The answer is not many. If you start in finance right out of college, you would have experienced two if you are in your late 30's. You have to be in your mid-40's to go through three with the dot-com bubble not a strong economic recession. You must be in your mid-50's to experience 4, and your late 50's or early 60's to have seen 5 recessions. The numbers are just very low, so most have not had much or any experience navigating against these headwinds. Do investors and managers have the mental toughness to deal with recessions, I don't think so given we have had bailouts in most cases and nothing that has been prolonged even when we count the Great Financial Crisis. 

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