MRA Advisory Group

Investor Education

Investor education for more informed decisions.

A risk assessment can help align investment decisions with your goals, time horizon, and personal comfort with risk.

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Before You Invest

The right questions create a more intentional strategy.

01

Volatility

U.S. markets move with economic indicators, geopolitical events, and investor sentiment. Understanding those changes can help put decisions in context.

02

Time in the market

Staying invested for the long term can be more reliable than attempting to anticipate short-term market moves.

03

Diversification

Spreading investments across asset classes, sectors, and geographies can help reduce the effect of concentrated losses.

04

Taxes

Investing in the United States may require attention to tax reporting, currency considerations, and applicable tax rules.

05

The emotion cycle

Discipline and attention to goals can help investors avoid impulsive decisions during periods of euphoria, fear, or volatility.

Behavior and risk

The investor emotion cycle.

This graph shows how confidence and fear can move through a cycle. The highlights mark moments when investors may feel compelled to enter after a rise or exit after a decline.

Investor emotion cycle curveAn oscillating line represents optimism, excitement, euphoria, anxiety, fear, panic, despondency, hope and relief. Euphoria highlights late entry and panic highlights impulsive exit.HIGHER CONFIDENCEGREATER DISCOMFORTLATE ENTRYIMPULSIVE EXIT1Optimism2Excitement3Euphoria4Anxiety5Fear6Panic7Despondency8Hope & relief

Swipe the graph to explore every stage.

Stage 01

Optimism

Dominant emotion
Growing confidence
Typical investor behavior
Begins considering opportunities and accepting some risk after a cautious period.

This is an educational illustration, not a market forecast or a description of every investor’s behavior.

How the Assessment Works

01

Share your priorities

Tell us about your investment preferences and goals.

02

Receive an analysis

Review an assessment of your profile based on your responses.

03

Use the insight

Make more informed decisions that are better aligned with your profile.

Market history

Declines are part of the journey.

These charts show how returns and declines have coexisted over five decades. They do not predict future results, but they can help put volatility in context.

01 / Cumulative return

S&P 500: 50 years of total return.

Hypothetical value of $100 with dividends reinvested. A logarithmic scale makes different periods of growth easier to see.

Cumulative S&P 500 total return from 1976 to 2025S&P 500 annual total return line with historic events highlighted in 1980, 1987, 2000, 2007, 2020, and 2022.$1,000$10,000197619851995200520152025InflationInflation and recession (1980–82)1987Black Monday (1987)TechDot-com bubble (2000–02)GFCGlobal financial crisis (2007–09)COVIDCOVID-19 pandemic (2020)RatesInflation and rising rates (2022)Inflation and recession (1980–82)Black Monday (1987)Dot-com bubble (2000–02)Global financial crisis (2007–09)COVID-19 pandemic (2020)Inflation and rising rates (2022)

Swipe horizontally to explore the full chart.

Disclosure: The $100 illustration is hypothetical and reflects S&P 500 annual total returns with dividends reinvested. It does not reflect fees, taxes, investment costs, or any investor’s actual experience. The S&P 500 is unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Inflation and recession (1980–82)Black Monday (1987)Dot-com bubble (2000–02)Global financial crisis (2007–09)COVID-19 pandemic (2020)Inflation and rising rates (2022)
02 / Significant drawdowns

The size of declines and the events around them.

Approximate peak-to-trough S&P 500 price declines in selected episodes. The colored marker shows total return in the final calendar year of each period.

Major S&P 500 drawdowns from 1980 to 2022Horizontal bars show approximate S&P 500 drawdowns alongside historic events.−0%−20%−40%−60%1980–82Inflation, recession and high interest ratesTotal return in the final year of the period: +20.4%+20.4%1980–82: decline of -27.1% — Total return in the final year of the period: +20.4%-27.1%1987Black MondayTotal return in the final year of the period: +5.8%+5.8%1987: decline of -33.5% — Total return in the final year of the period: +5.8%-33.5%1990Recession and Gulf WarTotal return in the final year of the period: -3.1%-3.1%1990: decline of -19.9% — Total return in the final year of the period: -3.1%-19.9%1998Asian and Russian crises / LTCMTotal return in the final year of the period: +28.3%+28.3%1998: decline of -19.3% — Total return in the final year of the period: +28.3%-19.3%2000–02Dot-com bubbleTotal return in the final year of the period: -22.0%-22.0%2000–02: decline of -49.1% — Total return in the final year of the period: -22.0%-49.1%2007–09Global financial crisisTotal return in the final year of the period: +25.9%+25.9%2007–09: decline of -56.8% — Total return in the final year of the period: +25.9%-56.8%2011European sovereign debt and U.S. downgradeTotal return in the final year of the period: +2.1%+2.1%2011: decline of -19.4% — Total return in the final year of the period: +2.1%-19.4%2018Rate and trade volatilityTotal return in the final year of the period: -4.2%-4.2%2018: decline of -19.8% — Total return in the final year of the period: -4.2%-19.8%2020COVID-19 pandemicTotal return in the final year of the period: +18.0%+18.0%2020: decline of -33.9% — Total return in the final year of the period: +18.0%-33.9%2022Inflation and monetary tighteningTotal return in the final year of the period: -18.0%-18.0%2022: decline of -25.4% — Total return in the final year of the period: -18.0%-25.4%

Swipe horizontally to explore the full chart.

Sources: S&P 500 annual total returns (with dividends) from 1976–2025, NYU Stern / Aswath Damodaran; drawdown and recovery context, S&P Global. Price declines are rounded for educational purposes; dates, depth, and recovery can vary by methodology and data frequency.

Important: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Indexes are unmanaged, do not include fees or expenses, and cannot be invested in directly.

Asset class comparison

Ten years. A different order every year.

The quilt ranks annual returns from highest to lowest in each column. The 60/40 portfolio is rebalanced annually using 60% U.S. large-cap stocks and 40% 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds.

Annual return quilt

Tiles show nominal total returns in U.S. dollars. An asset that leads one year can rank near the bottom the next.

Swipe horizontally to explore every year.

U.S. large-cap stocks (S&P 500)U.S. small-cap stocksU.S. Treasury bonds (10-year)U.S. real estateGoldPortfolio: 60% U.S. stocks / 40% U.S. Treasury bonds

Source: historical annual U.S. returns, NYU Stern / Aswath Damodaran. The 60/40 portfolio is an illustrative annual return calculation before taxes, fees, trading costs, and inflation.

Important: Past performance does not guarantee future results. The asset classes, indexes, and illustrative portfolio shown do not represent an individualized recommendation and may not be appropriate for every investor.