Recent market weakness has many investors worried about what it could mean for their returns, but in the long run, sell-offs and the volatility that globally diversified investors face are just small speed bumps in your goal.

Losses typically make investors nervous about the future, with many assuming that 2023 will merely be a continuation of the trend markets experienced the previous year; but what does the data say about negative annual returns on equities over the long history of stock markets?

While most would not have experienced losses in 2022 as large as the Russian market, the drawdowns in some other markets have been eyebrow-raising to say the least. Thankfully, there are some actions that will make your portfolio more resilient against such losses.