The S&P/ASX 200 index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is down 4% since last week's high.
Stocks are down, across the board. The Dow has just fallen for the sixth day in a row.
These are testing times for sharemarket investors.
All that hard work…gone in the twinkling of an eye.
And there may be more pain to come.
European sovereign-debt fears are back.
Although euro-zone governments are keeping Greece afloat, some commentators are predicting the Mediterranean country could leave the euro as soon as next month.
What were they thinking?
When markets wobble, there's no place to hide.
Even gold, The Motley Fool's least favourite asset class, slumped to a four-month low.
On Bloomberg, Frank Lesh of FuturePath Trading said…
"Capital is going to where it's safe, and it hasn't been safe in gold."
And there we were thinking gold was supposed to be a safe-haven?
Maybe we're wrong. After all, gold has had a great run since 2000, easily outperforming Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) 466% vs 120%.
Gold bugs will no-doubt keep the faith. We simply keep away, focus on the long investing road ahead, and not the rear view mirror.
It's the future that counts, not the past, and our view is that gold is yesterday's hero.
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More reading
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- The greatest challenge for today's nervous investors
The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. Bruce Jackson owns shares in Berkshire Hathaway. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).
