At the beginning of the Great Depression, from 1929 to 1932, the US stock market dropped 90% with DJIA crashing from 400 to 40. But from 1932 to 1939 in the midst of the Great Depression, DJIA did rebound to 200 and then fall back to 100. During that 7 years in the worst economic environment, there were 5 major trading rallies in US stock market with an average gain of 93%. http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/historical/djia19201940.html Rallies and crashes are common in stock markets. But bear in mind, very few individual investors or funds, if any, can take a huge hit without cutting loss in panic. So what's the point? Figure it out yourself.