The ASX stock market has seen plenty of pain in 2022. Are things about to get even worse? Maybe it doesn't matter.
Some investors are always trying to guess what's going to happen next. The shorter the time period, the harder it is to be right.
Perhaps we don't need to adjust our investments or thoughts at all, if we're thinking long term. What happens in 2023 isn't that important if we're investing for 2030 or beyond.
But that's not the only reason to stay positive.
According to a report from Sharesies for the fourth quarter of 2022, investors are still confident about the long term and are focused on building wealth.
Survey results
A survey of over 1,600 investors showed that 80% of those surveyed "aren't worried about their investments over the next six months," with 69% of people investing for 10 years or more. It shows that the investors surveyed are still investing with the long term in mind.
We also learned that the majority of people using the Sharesies platform, 63%, are sticking with their investment strategy during stock market volatility.
The survey also revealed that 50% of people have the same risk appetite as the last six months, while 18% have a higher risk appetite.
What to make of this
Individual investors are unlikely to be able to move the market in any meaningful way at the moment. Institutional investors have much more market power due to their size.
But, I think it goes to show that some people are seeing this volatility as an opportunity to buy shares, while thinking long term.
I think that one of Warren Buffett's most famous sayings may be apt during this period:
Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.
What this suggests is that it's a good time to invest in the stock market when investors are selling and prices are dropping. This could describe the current situation, with the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) down by around 20% in the year to date. ASX investors would have seen that the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) is down by 16% in 2022.
I don't think that the global share market is going to get back to former heights any time soon. But, I don't think it'd be wise to stay negative for too long, particularly if share prices were to drop to a lower level. I'm using this as an opportunity to buy shares at a cheaper price.
