The 2018 Bull Market That Didn’t Happen

Many investors entered 2018 with high hopes for a strong bull market that would carry their portfolios to new heights. The anticipated bull never really showed up. Throughout the year, markets struggled to make sustained upward moves, and by December, the market had ended almost exactly where it started on January 2, 2018. This lack of growth, combined with significant volatility, left many investors feeling the sting of financial setbacks and nursing their losses.

When the outcomes you count on fail to materialize, it can leave you financially vulnerable and uncertain about the future. That’s precisely why guaranteed sustainability is so critical when seeking financial security and long-term stability—qualities that the unpredictable markets simply cannot promise. Having a reliable foundation in your financial plan can help shield you from the ups and downs of the market and protect what matters most.

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Granted, there will always be opportunities to earn rapid returns when certain favorable market conditions arise. These moments can be tempting, promising quick gains that seem too good to pass up. However, here’s the challenge: most people don’t have a large enough buffer—whether in terms of time, money, or both—to withstand the inevitable market storms. When corrections or downturns hit, those swift gains can quickly evaporate, and your returns take a sharp dive.

This dynamic reminds me of Aesop’s timeless fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, which serves as a powerful analogy for how people approach life and investing. Some try to sprint through at breakneck speed, chasing fast results and quick wins. Others choose a slow, steady approach, understanding that consistent progress often leads to lasting success. You know how the story ends—the slow and steady Tortoise ultimately wins the race because the Hare, overconfident in his own speed and skill, loses focus and falls behind. The lesson is clear: patience and consistency often outperform haste and recklessness, especially in the unpredictable world of investing.

The Hare is akin to those who mock the steady, guaranteed gains of participating whole life insurance (PWLI).  Slow and steady the PLWI at first appears it could never reach the glorious heights and returns that the stock market, index funds, mutual funds or EFTs can reach.  But when the dust settles and the market closes, PWLI typically wins the race because of its steady sustainable gains that are guaranteed and not subject to the giant losses that market volatility produces on a fairly regular basis.

2018 was one of those years.  It became a downer for most people who held stocks, index funds, mutual funds, or EFTs.  But for those who held PWLI products, it was a profitable year just like 2017, 2016 and hundreds of years before that.  Statistically, those steady gains of PWLI have made it one of the most trusted financial tools for those who are serious about winning their financial game.  And the sooner you start your own PWLI, the more guaranteed gains you will be able to accumulate in your lifetime.

That is because PWLI is not the type of life insurance you purchase merely to have a death benefit.  It is the McFie Insuranceof PWLI that make it so attractive to those who really plan on winning their financial game. Because life doesn’t necessarily reward those who are swift and speedy, but rather life tends to favor those who are slow and steady just as Aesop foretold years ago.

If you don’t own PWLI, then 2019 is the best time for you to change that fact.  Time is always on your side when you begin and always against you when you haven’t started.  2019 is here, it’s time to begin.

Happy New Year and many prosperous years to come.

Tomas P. McFie DC PhD

Tom McFie is the founder of McFie Insurance and co-host of the WealthTalks podcast which helps people keep more of the money they make, so they can have financial peace of mind. He has reviewed 1000s of whole life insurance policies and has practiced the Infinite Banking Concept for nearly 20 years, making him one of the foremost experts on achieving financial peace of mind. His latest book, A Biblical Guide to Personal Finance, can be purchased here.