We Don’t Like Making Predictions But…
If you subscribe to our premium newsletter Simplifying Wall Street in Plain English, you’ll remember our January issue where we talked about volatility in 2026.
We said: How do you navigate market volatility in 2026, The Year of Living Dangerously?
And, with only 2 ½ months into 2026, volatility is definitely in your face.
But here’s the problem…
Most people tend to limit their understanding of volatility as something that happens ONLY when markets are falling.
So, how’s that worked out for you so far this year?
The phrase “May you live in interesting times” come to mind here.
However, what’s hard to deny is when you look at our current “Interesting Times” it’s hard to imagine any other period (in our lifetimes) being more fraught with insecurity than our own present time.
And that creates opportunities of a lifetime when it comes to investing.
Volatility With a Capital V
When you look at the major indexes in 2026, we have the following:
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DOW -2.85% YTD
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S&P -3.44% YTD
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NASDAQ -4.06 YTD
On the surface, these are not terrible numbers.
But they don’t tell the real story.
The NASDAQ has seen a (7.7%) swing of over 2,000 points from peak to trough.
The S&P has seen a (4.2%) swing of over 300 points from peak to trough.
And the DOW has seen a (6.9%) swing of over 3,473 points from peak to trough.
However, if all you did was look at the closing price, you might say something like: “Wow, the DOW was up over 200 points today.”
This is the kind of volatility that Wall Street loves for several reasons:
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It generates HUGE commissions.
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It allows them to dump a lot of unwanted inventory.
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It makes the normal investor nervous.
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It sets the small investor up for the “Kill shot”
