By Melissa Moraes, Freelance writer covering start-ups, socially responsible brands, and the newest trends in the world around us

For any investor, the term “bear market” can seem off-putting. While a prolonged drop in investment prices can present various feelings of uncertainty, observing current trends and capitalizing on defensive utility stocks continues to provide the stability and protection investors need, no matter how the market is doing. 

As Riggs Eckelberry, Founder and CEO of OriginClear, puts it, key indicators for companies entering a bear market are simply “when a majority of corporations miss their estimates.” This domino effect is what triggers the downward spiral when prices of an asset continuously drop and monetary value is eroded to little or nothing. “Markets respond to interest rates and they have been very low for a long time. Now that they’re rising, the interest the U.S. government pays can be huge and the unstoppable force of hyperinflation,” he says. To prepare for such changes, keeping up with current trends in the stock market is a major factor to track the big ups and downs and protect stock portfolios down the line.

At a time when stocks slide deeper into a bear market, more and more investors feel their portfolios in distress. As the leader of a company working to improve America’s standard of water, Eckelberry explains the benefits of investing in utility stocks like water to extinguish that fire. “The cell tower network was a huge boom when developing regions bypassed the whole landline infrastructure. We are seeing the same with water – the central infrastructure is completely obsolete, so industrial users are investing in private water treatment systems,” he says. Not only do these kinds of assets ensure continuous value for investors, but they work to protect their collection of market-traded securities within a bear market. “This is the future of water, a trillion-dollar global industry that is easily worth five times as much – if you decentralize it!”

While stock prices change every day, seeking out specific investments is also essential to protecting a portfolio even in a bear market. “You want to find the areas that are underserved in the new low-demand, high-inflation economy. We’re doing that in water, but there are other areas too,” he shares. Confronting the growing issues of the water industry, investing in daily necessities is crucial for companies like OriginClear whose performance can be minimally impacted by changing trends. Regardless of economic conditions, utility stocks provide great investment options, making them desirable for any well-diversified portfolio.

Offering valuable guidance for companies to prosper and improve investment returns, Riggs Eckelberry shares his advice for young and older investors alike as they follow changing trends and seek stability down the road. “Be sure to invest in hard assets, not those that are in deep trouble. Follow the trend, which right now is all about a super migration from the big old cities, to distant places. That is the future – follow it!”