How the risk of recession can hurt your portfolio

The business press isn't exactly worry-free reading at the moment.

Scott Phillips (TMFGilla)

Scott Phillips is The Motley Fool’s Chief Investment Officer in Australia. He is Advisor of The Fool’s flagship investment service, Motley Fool Share Advisor and the Portfolio Manager of Motley Fool Everlasting Income and Premier Portfolio, as well as running our most premium service, Motley Fool Platinum. He is passionate about investing, having managed his own portfolio for over 15 years. A dyed-in-the-wool Fool (in the best way), he has been a member of The Motley Fool since 1999. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Management) and a Graduate Diploma of Accounting. Before joining The Fool, Scott worked in various Sales and Finance roles in industry, which has allowed him to see the good, bad and the ugly of corporate management close-up. Giving him a great understanding of the way businesses run – and what separates the business wheat from the chaff – Scott wholeheartedly agrees with Warren Buffett when he said he was a ‘better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor’. Scott left a successful career to follow his passion – helping our members achieve the best possible investment returns, and helping Australians learn to better manage their money. It’s no surprise he ended up at The Motley Fool.

Published August 13, 2019 6:30 pm AEST

You might not want to read today's headlines. Here's why…

The business press isn't exactly worry-free reading at the moment.

Exhibit A, may it please the court, is today's Sydney Morning Herald headline:

"Recession fears spook Wall Street"

Worried yet?

Here are some more headlines:

"ASX to open lower as recession fears haunt Wall St" — Australian Financial Review

"US Trade War Spooks Stock Market, Worry About Recession" — Bloomberg

"Wall Street reels as US-China trade spat and falling oil prices spook investors" —Proactive Investors

"'Peak' earnings concerns spook Wall Street" — AFR

"Global recession fears spook Wall Street" — CBS

"Slow Growth Stirs Fears of Recession" — Wall Street Journal

Oops, I left something out.

The date.

Let's try again.

"ASX to open lower as recession fears haunt Wall St" — Australian Financial Review (5 days ago)

"US Trade War Spooks Stock Market, Worry About Recession" — Bloomberg (May 13)

"Wall Street reels as US-China trade spat and falling oil prices spook investors" —Proactive Investors (June 19, 2018)

"'Peak' earnings concerns spook Wall Street" — AFR (April 25, 2018)

"Global recession fears spook Wall Street" — CBS (August 19, 2011)

"Slow Growth Stirs Fears of Recession" — Wall Street Journal (July 30, 2011)

Argh. I messed up again.

This time, with the returns of the ASX 200 since each article was printed:

"ASX to open lower as recession fears haunt Wall St" — Australian Financial Review(5 days ago) +1.1%

"US Trade War Spooks Stock Market, Worry About Recession" — Bloomberg (May 13)+4.6%

"Wall Street reels as US-China trade spat and falling oil prices spook investors" —Proactive Investors (June 19, 2018) +8.0%

"'Peak' earnings concerns spook Wall Street" — AFR (April 25, 2018) +11.5%

"Global recession fears spook Wall Street" — CBS (August 19, 2011) +60.7%

"Slow Growth Stirs Fears of Recession" — Wall Street Journal (July 30, 2011) +46.5%

… and none of those numbers include dividends.

It's different this time?

Possibly.

Some people said it was 'different this time' then, too.

Is it easy to ignore the doom and gloom? Nope.

But you let it impact your investing at your financial peril.

Fool on!

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