The last few weeks have been great for the bulls.

Stocks across many different sectors have trended higher, helping investors make back some of their losses.

In fact, this “Santa Claus rally” has been strong enough to spread holiday cheer across all of Wall Street.

But don't let your guard down just yet.

Today I’ll show you what appears to be a "bear market peak" ahead of another leg lower for stocks.

Now more than ever, it's essential to protect your wealth heading into the end of the year.

Another Lower High for Stocks

Take a look at this chart of the S&P 500. After peaking at the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 staged three significant rebounds.

One that peaked in late March… another that peaked midway through August… and our current rally appears to be peaking in early December.

Each of these rebounds took weeks to complete. And they've been strong enough to give investors hope that the bear market is finally over.

But as they say on Wall Street, "Hope is not a viable investment strategy." 

And many times hope can cause you to take on too much risk when the facts are telling you to protect your wealth.

Here's the thing...

We're still in a bear market. Even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average is technically up 20% from its lows, the environment for investors is still turbulent.

I'm concerned that too many investors are now reinvesting their capital just in time for the market to roll back once again.

Here's How to Protect Yourself...

Now that many speculative stocks have moved higher, I would first suggest taking a hard look at every position in your investment account.

The end of the year is a great time to do this so you can cut out the weak positions and start 2023 with a clean slate of healthy investments.

Any speculative stocks (especially in the tech sector) with negative earnings or very little profit right now should get cut.

Sure, some of these companies may have bright prospects. But the risk of them trading lower simply outweighs the potential gains you give up by selling them.

I'd rather you wait until the market is oversold to consider adding some of these stocks back to your investment account.

Meanwhile, consider adding to positions in the following areas:

• Blue-chip dividend plays.
• Gold, silver and precious metal miners.
• Energy stocks with oil and gas reserves.
• Defense stocks that sell to the U.S. military.

If you put your hard-earned wealth into these areas of the market, your investment account has a much higher chance of profiting over the next few months.

Even if the overall stock market pulls back, these areas should hold up relatively well. 

And since stocks in these areas also tend to pay lucrative dividends, you can use the cash you receive to buy new shares at lower prices!

Bottom line, don't get too comfortable with this bear market rally. There's still a lot of risk in play.

But if you know how to protect your wealth, you can thrive in this challenging environment and grow your wealth once the bear market eventually comes to an end.