It always pays to stay the course, says Jim Cramer

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  September 11, 2026 at 23:18  |  1:49  |  CNBC
Speakers
Jim Cramer — Host, Mad Money

Summary

Jim Cramer compares the current market setup to the fall of 2018, noting eerie similarities but saying he does not expect history to repeat exactly. He advises investors not to panic or sell everything, and to stay the course because markets have historically recovered after steep selloffs. For risk management, he suggests trimming winners and raising cash, then using weakness to buy high-quality stocks that were sold for market rather than company reasons. He points to the 2019 rally after Powell's rate cuts as evidence that staying invested can pay off.

  • Cramer compares the current market to fall 2018 and sees eerie similarities.
  • He says investors should not sell everything and should stay the course.
  • He cites the 2019 rally after Powell's rate cuts as historical precedent.
  • He advises trimming some winners to raise cash to the mid-teens.
  • He recommends using market weakness to buy high-quality stocks.
  • He does not think history will repeat this time but acknowledges it might.
Ideas
Jim Cramer Host, Mad Money 0:08
Stay invested; pullbacks usually recover.
Cramer argues investors should not sell everything because staying the course and remaining in the market usually pays off; after the steep Q4 2018 selloff, Powell's rate cuts helped fuel a nearly 30% rally in 2019 that recovered the September 2018 highs by late October 2019. He sees eerie similarities to fall 2018 but does not think history will repeat.
SPY HIGH
Jim Cramer Host, Mad Money 0:58
Raise cash by trimming winners.
If investors are worried about a repeat of 2018, Cramer advises trimming winners and taking something off the table; he has been doing that in the charitable trust, raising its cash position to the mid-teens, much higher than usual, to have dry powder for market weakness.
CASH HIGH
Jim Cramer Host, Mad Money 1:08
Buy quality stocks on weakness.
If you are not panicking and hold a nice cash position, Cramer says use any market weakness to buy the high-quality stocks you trimmed because you were worried about the market, not because of company-specific problems.
High-quality stocks HIGH
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This CNBC video, published September 11, 2026, features Jim Cramer discussing SPY, CASH, High-quality stocks. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Jim Cramer  · Tickers: SPY, CASH, High-quality stocks