Fisher on Why Today Is Like the Early '90s

Kenneth Fisher says the market and economic environment right now are reminding him of the early 1990s, and says it’s a good time to buy stocks — selectively.

“Let me set the scene,” Fisher writes in his latest Forbes column. “It was just a few years after 1987’s Black Monday market crash and 1989’s Friday the 13th minicrash. The S&L crisis was making headlines, and Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait. The stock market fell hard in 1990, and investors were nervous — a psychosis similar to 2008’s.” He adds that Europe was going through a debt-driven tumult, and housing had plummeted.

Fisher says the parallels are “evident and plentiful,” though not perfect, and he stresses that he’s not predicting another raging bull market like the one that occurred in the ’90s. “However,” he says, “remember few saw how optimal the environment ­really was back then. I think times are similar, and it’s a good time to buy, selectively.” He offers a handful of stock picks, including Tractor Supply Company.