Election years, with their uncertainty and increased emotions, cause anxiety for investors.

A look at past market declines shows that bear markets for the S&P 500 Index occur about once every six years. Once in a bear market, they last, historically, for 401 days. While past results don’t guarantee future returns, markets have always recovered from past market declines.

Epidemics in the past have also led to sharp pull-backs in the markets. Over the long-term, however, the stock market has weathered past epidemics. The below chart looks at the historical returns of the S&P 500 Index during multiple epidemics over the last 40 years. Over the 6 and 12 month periods following an epidemic, the S&P 500 performance has, on average, been positive.

Loss aversion sounds like a good thing — trying to avoid losing. What could be wrong with that?