When you hear 9 – 10% in the stock market, you must remember that those returns contain every single type of market environment.
Warren Buffet is one of the most successful investors ever, and he still has declines at some point. But, he has the right behaviors ingrained in him to “be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy”.
No one likes declines, but they are part of a full market cycle. When constructing a portfolio for a client, I always try to understand the risk tolerance for them, understanding that unless you’re 100% invested in the stock market, you won’t get 100% of the ups (desired) and downs (undesirable) of that market
Here’s a full article with thoughts from Warren:
Warren Buffet’s Biggest Losses