Approximately three out of four stocks go down in a bear market. This ratio doesn’t just apply to high beta names; historically, 75 percent of all stocks go down when the general market falls. On May 20, when the DJIA lost 376 points, 99 percent of stocks fell. Yet a financial TV host recommended “defensive” names the day after. Wouldn’t his viewers be better served if he said, “You may want to step aside for now”?