Review of 2022: The Bear Market That Left a Lasting Impression

As Mark Twain once said, history does not simply repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Looking back at 2022, the global capital markets experienced an epic shock, a turmoil significant enough to be recorded in financial history. The catalyst for all this was the sudden outbreak of the Continental War in February that year, the largest military conflict Europe has been involved in since World War II. This black swan event not only severely impacted the global financial system but also directly led to the U.S. stock market entering a prolonged bear market lasting nine months. As a firsthand witness of this historical period, I would like to share some personal investment insights by reviewing the market trends of that year.

1. Market Review: From Geopolitical Crisis to Valuation Rebuilding

The stock market in 2022 did not fall in a straight line but went through several distinct phases. Early in the year, as tensions in Europe escalated, market sentiment began to weaken, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices gradually sliding from their peaks. When news of the full-scale outbreak of war spread worldwide on February 24, panic led to the stock market declining for several weeks in a row.

The situation did not develop as quickly as people had hoped; the stalemate of the war caused commodity prices to spiral out of control. At that time, oil prices briefly broke through the $130 per barrel mark, and wheat prices hit record highs. This supply-side shock quickly triggered severe input inflation on a global scale. To curb runaway inflation, the Federal Reserve was forced to implement an unprecedented aggressive rate hike. The market's negative logic then shifted from initial war panic to a sharp contraction in valuations due to soaring interest rates.

After repeated bottoming and fluctuations, the stock market finally reached its lowest point of this cycle on October 12, and then slowly began to recover. Statistics show that this bear market lasted over nine months. During this period, the maximum drawdown of the S&P 500 index reached 25%, while the Nasdaq 100 index saw a decline of up to 35%.

2. Investment Records: Panic and Opportunity Coexist

Since the beginning of 2022, I have been guiding many friends and relatives in China to allocate investments in U.S. stock funds through WeChat groups. The vast majority of them were novices in the stock market, lacking experience in dealing with bear markets, and unfortunately faced this stock disaster head-on. In the face of account shrinkage, many fell into extreme anxiety, repeatedly asking me whether they should cut losses or stop investing.

In response to this panic, I earnestly advised everyone to maintain confidence in the U.S. stock market, stick to a systematic investment strategy, and constantly referred to historical data to encourage them. Fortunately, the vast majority of friends and relatives, trusting me, chose to hold on. This perseverance reaped substantial rewards in the following years. Data shows that if one had consistently invested monthly in the S&P 500 index fund since early 2022, by early 2026, the annualized return would have reached 19.6%; if it was the Nasdaq 100 index fund, the annualized return would even be as high as 24.0%. As the saying goes, "When you reach the end of the road, you might find a new path," having gone through this baptism, my friends and relatives gained confidence and began to allocate more family assets to U.S. stock funds.

Unlike the anxiety of novices, having personally experienced the more severe market crashes of 2008 and 2020, the decline in 2022 was not frightening to me; rather, it represented a rare opportunity. I chose to go against the trend and, in mid-2022, refinanced through the bank to expand my mortgage scale, successfully raising over one million dollars.

I invested this capital in one go into the information technology sector fund VGT. By early 2026, after deducting interest costs, the net profit from this bottom-fishing operation was about 130%.

3. Conclusion

Although the stock disaster of 2022 is less than four years old, the various changes that occurred during that time feel as if they happened long ago. We look back at history not only to gain knowledge but to derive wisdom, which encompasses both life philosophy and investment principles. That stock disaster and my personal experience deeply made me realize the fragility and diversity of the ordinary investor's mindset, and taught me to face future market fluctuations with a more composed attitude.

I hope my review can inspire you. If you wish to learn more about my investment philosophy and experiences, feel free to visit the Amazon website or Google Play Books to purchase and read my Chinese financial book "Wealth Shortcut," or its English version "The Shortcut to Wealth: Your Simple Roadmap to Financial Independence."