How to Invest in This Bear Market

Now that we're officially well into bear-market territory now, the question is: How do you invest in the midst of one?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped into bear territory on Wednesday, March 11. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq followed suit the following day, as Thursday, March 12, saw the biggest drop in the stock market since the 1987 market crash. For those not versed in market lingo, a bear market is a decline of 20% or more in stocks. This is more severe than a stock market correction, which is a decline of 10% to just under 20%.

These numbers are arbitrary, of course. As an investor, you don't necessarily care if your portfolio drops by exactly 20% or if it loses just 19%. But semantics aside, the bear market is here and growling with a vengeance.

It's been a while since we've had a proper bear market - the last one was during the 2008 financial crisis. For a few, it's entirely possible that this is the first one you've had to live through