During extraordinary market conditions of all kinds – good and bad – it is usual to hear people say, “It’s different this time.” In this historical journey of economics, Gregory Curtis of US advisory firm Greycourt tries to uncover whether this time around, it really is different. Every market environment is different from every other market environment, but Curtis said what people are saying is that market conditions today are so exceptional, so completely unprecedented, that investors need to reassess everything they thought they knew about the investment process – or face serious consequences. We heard this during difficult environments like the Great Depression, 1974, 1987, 2002, and we’re hearing it again today. But it wasn’t different on any of those occasions as Curtis demonstrates that investors who kept their wits about them and continued to follow traditional, thoughtful investment strategies were well-rewarded in every case.
