Intra-Year Corrections Happen Regularly
By LaRue Gibson on January 26, 2026
How You Handle Them Matters
Why You Should Not Fear A Market Correction
How LRG Wealth Advisors Will Help
As 2026, a Mid-Term Election Cycle year, commences, the topic of market corrections has come up often. Investors loathe market corrections, yet given how regular market corrections happen, one could be forgiven for being surprised how investors react to market sell-offs.
We reviewed market data going back to the late 1980s. We found that equity market drawdowns happen regularly. In fact, these drawdowns happen in nearly every year! On average, the broad market index experiences a decline in any given year of approximately 14%, with a median pullback around 10%. No one asks us how the stock market performs for the calendar year when these regular drawdowns occur! Visually, one can see that the chart says “well” most years. And we know that there is not an investor alive today who can say on the day they were born, the stock market was higher than it is today? So, the question of whether the market will decline gives way to the question when will the market decline, and how will we handle that decline?
At LRG Wealth Advisors, we believe that the “train”, “airplane”, or “automobile” of stocks always gets to your destination. The destination may be a comfortable retirement, a high-quality education for your children, or a lasting social impact to name a few. The question: “Will you be on the “train, “plane”, or “automobile” to your final destination?
Your relationship to risk matters in this regard. Only a well-trained advisor can ensure that you will stay with your investment plan, which includes equities, until you reach the life you imagine. Only a well-trained advisor can construct a risk-appropriate asset allocation strategy designed to help you survive the inevitable, very regular market correction. Because it is not about trying to time the market but about staying invested, so you will be seated on the “train”, “airplane”, or “automobile” when it reaches your final destination.
The key takeaway is that investors who attempt to time the market in order to avoid poor performance in the short-term risk missing the recovery that history shows to be probable.
We invite your questions and thoughts.
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LRG Wealth Advisors is a group comprised of investment professionals registered with Hightower Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Some investment professionals may also be registered with Hightower Securities, LLC (member FINRA and SIPC). Advisory services are offered through Hightower Advisors, LLC. Securities are offered through Hightower Securities, LLC.
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