Warren Buffett once said: “If you’re making a good investment in a security, it shouldn’t bother you if they closed down the stock market for five years.”
With the US stock market in a bear market, these words ring louder than ever. But, I would go even further and suggest that the truly long-term investor shouldn’t bother even if the stock market closed forever. Yes, you heard that right- forever.
Even if we are never able to sell our shares, a truly good investment (bought at the right price) should still pay off over time as companies pay their shareholders dividends.
For example, let’s say you bought shares of the Singapore-listed hospitals owner Parkway Life REIT back in 2007 at its offering price of S$1.28 per share. After you made your investment, the Singapore stock market completely closed down and you were left holding on to your shares with no way to sell them. Since then,...