Bear markets are the ultimate behavioural test for investors. The outcome of this test says more about their likelihood of success in building wealth over the long run than does the direction of financial markets. Investors will either stay smart or yield to emotion, which can ruin the potential for gains.

In the current scenario of volatile markets, the wildcard for portfolios is the human mind, not the movements in asset prices. Not one investor is immune to systemic risks, but all investors will need to resist their emotions to act as prices fall during the current bear market.