Is a Stock Market Crash Coming?

After soaring 240% since March 2009, the Dow Jones has eked out a measly 0.89% gain this year.

With stocks slowing and a trade war escalating, investors are rightly wondering whether a stock market crash is coming.

While trade war actions might roil the markets and impact profits, investors would do well to remember that volatility is a characteristic of markets. Stocks fluctuate. Going up in a straight line is rare.

YOU KNOW IT IN YOUR GUT: Look at how things are going. Financial turmoil is coming just around the corner, maybe just a few months away. Click here...

We aren't predicting a market crash, which is defined as a drop of at least 20% or more. But pullbacks in the market, whether they are fluctuations or prolonged drops, are completely normal.

That's why it's always a good time to prepare yourself and protect your portfolio.

Even if stocks still have room to run higher, we are at the tail end of a very long bull market. This will be the longest bull market on record in August.  Whether it ends in a period of volatility or as a result of sideways trading until profits drive stocks higher again, downturns are part of the stock cycle.

Fortunately, you can protect your money from whatever the market throws at you with our stock market crash protection plan.

Here are our two favorite strategies to protect your portfolio...

Buy Gold to Protect Against a Stock Market Crash

Your first step to protect against the next stock market crash is to buy gold.

You see, market volatility creates uncertainty for investors. During periods of uncertainty, investors have historically flocked to gold. As a result, the price of the yellow metal rises.

In past market downdrafts, gold has retained its value. When the DJIA crashed as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, for example, it slumped 49% from peak to trough. But the price of gold climbed 5% over the same period.

stock market crashMoney Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald recommends a gold portfolio of 2% to 5% of your total investments. His research shows that level of gold holdings can give you the stability of return, but also allows you to realize any stock market appreciation.

While some investors like to purchase physical gold, it can be costly to store and secure. Instead, we recommend buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF). ETFs are as easy to buy and sell as stocks, and they trade on exchanges.

Consider the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE Arca: GLD). The ETF is liquid and accurately tracks the price of gold. GLD currently trades for $115.86 per share. An ounce of gold, on the other hand, trades at $1,230.70 per ounce, so it's much easier to manage in your portfolio, too.

But you don't have to flee the stock market to make money during a market correction or downturn either...

Buy Unstoppable Trend Stocks as Part of a Stock Market Crash Protection Plan

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We're recommending two stocks that have a track record of performing well even as the broader market declines. Both of these stocks brought positive returns during the tech crash in 2000, even as the overall markets fell more than 10%.

While there's no guarantee these stocks will be immune to the next correction or pullback, they are some of the best companies in the most in-demand industries.

Fitz-Gerald thinks investors should hold on to stocks in the "Unstoppable Trends." The trick to making huge profits is to find "must-have" companies that fall into these six Unstoppable Trends: medicine, technology, demographics, scarcity and allocation, energy, and war, terrorism, and ugliness (also known as "defense"). The Unstoppable Trends are backed by trillions of dollars that Washington cannot derail, the Fed cannot meddle with, and Wall Street cannot hijack.

By owning well-run companies in these Unstoppable Trends, you'll own resilient stocks that will charge out of any market downturn, leaving behind anyone who sold off stocks for other assets. And if the market doesn't correct, these stocks are still going up.

That's why we're bringing you two of our favorite stocks from the Unstoppable Trends.

Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) is our play for the trend of war, terrorism, and ugliness.

Raytheon is a leader in the defense industry, with billions in contracts with the U.S. government and other countries across the world. That means if the market falls, Raytheon is going to continue to excel over the long term.

Raytheon has billion-dollar contracts with the U.S. government, but it also has a diverse customer base. International customers make up just under half of its business. That means even if a few countries cut defense spending during an economic downturn, RTN still has plenty of other customers to help it weather the storm.

But RTN's real allure as an Unstoppable Trend pick is the fact that war is a reality of the world. For instance, as tensions rise abroad, the United States is more likely to need more weapons and equipment. When the United States launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase on April 7, Raytheon's stock jumped more than 2%, since its missiles were used.

RTN currently trades at $194.68 a share and pays a 1.79% dividend yield.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) is an example of a play in the Unstoppable Trend of demographics.

BDX is a healthcare company specializing in one-time-use medical products utilized in hospitals and long-term care facilities. That means as populations age, more people will need this type of medical care, and BDX will be in even higher demand. People will need healthcare whether the market falls or not.

But BDX is also an exceptionally well-managed company. It has a 10.54% profit margin and maintains a 1.58% dividend yield, even after a $12.2 billion takeover of CareFusion two years ago. That means the company's capital management is sustainable and will easily survive a market downturn. And that's good news for its shareholders during a stock market crash.

BDX trades at $250.38 and pays a 1.24% dividend yield.

While these stocks are excellent plays, a crisis worse than a stock market crash will require even more serious preparation...

There Aren't Any "Safe Spaces" to Protect You from the Next Financial Disaster

America is headed for an economic disaster bigger than anything since the Great Depression.

If you lost out when the markets crashed in 2008, then you are going to want to see this special presentation.

Because if you don't act soon, the effects on your financial future could be more severe than anything you have ever experienced.

Don't wait - You can see all the details right here.

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