CAUTION: Blog post contains musical references which some readers may find bubble gummingly offensive

February 2, 2015 – If the stock market were a song and January were Britney Spears, right about now it would be singing a paraphrased version of the former teeny bopping icon’s hit, “Oops! . . . I Did It Again.”

What “it” did – decline more than 3% for the month – isn’t particularly remarkable in and of itself.  Over the past sixty-five years, January has been a down month for the market about 40% of the time.

But the reason it’s Britney Spears song-reference worthy is because of what this drop could signal for the rest of the year.

Key Stat: Since 1929, market indexes for the year followed January’s lead 72% of the time.

Any discussion about markets must begin and end with the reality that nobody can accurately predict what the market is going to do or when.

But regardless of whether or not you’re in the chance taking business, this might be a good time to pause and ask yourself whether the promise of higher gains really outweighs the historical probability of loss.

Are the bears back in town?

With the stock market bulls having had such a phenomenal run these past few years, doesn’t the very ebb and flow nature of the market increase the probability that a bear run – maybe even a recession – is nigh?

Young people usually have time to recover from these market swings. But those heading into the bell lap of life cannot afford to loose money.

So if you’re in the latter category, let a Retirement Income Certified Professional® help you make an informed decision about your future. Our firm is committed to offering retirement cash flow solutions that are safe and secure and will help you get the most out of your hard-earned retirement dollars.

By the way, even though “da Bears” weren’t playing in yesterday’s Super Bowl, another bearish statistic that’s making the rounds today has to do with New England’s win.  It goes like this:

When an original NFL team wins the Super Bowl, the market will go up.

If an expansion team wins, the market will go down.

Funky Stat:  This “Super Bowl Theory” has been accurate 80% of the time.

Sooner or later, the bear will arrive if he’s not already lurking about. Locking in some gains and securing your future now might help you prevent the next “Oops!” which is sure to come knocking some day.