How to Prepare for a Bear Market Without Selling Everything

Many investors are tempted to sell when the market moves lower or media pundits talk of an imminent decline. Of course, investors that sell everything run the risk of incurring a lot of cost and potentially missing out on any upside. Studies of financial market transactions have consistently shown that investors are exceptionally bad at trying to time the market, which has led to the growing popularity of passively managed index funds.