Buy-and-hold has not been kind to U.S. equity investors over the past decade. The S&P 500 index remains below its level at the beginning of 2000 and it is difficult to predict when this strategy will prevail again. As a result, we have built an investment model to help our subscribers determine when it’s safe to own U.S. stocks vs. when to sell and hold cash. The model is based on an in-depth historical analysis dating back to the early 1930s. Essentially, we have uncovered certain market conditions that have historically been associated with positive gains, and we only recommend investing during these periods in order to protect your capital and avoid large losses. Since the early 1930s, only investing when the conditions are ripe according to our model would have led to substantially better returns than that of the S&P 500 and more importantly it avoided bear markets and corrections.