(Bloomberg Gadfly) -- Remember, millennials: Red is good.

Millennials are probably tired of hearing that they’re not doing as well as their baby-boomerparents.

But with every 1,000-point drop in the Dow Jones IndustrialAverage, their fortunes are brightening.

If they doubt it, millennials need look no further than Mom andDad.

The baby boomers entered the workforce from roughly 1966 to1984. They couldn’t have timed it better because U.S. stocks werein an epic funk during those 19 years.

The S&P 500 Index gained just 3.2 percent annually whileinflation grew by 6.5 percent, which means the real value of U.S.stocks declined by a stunning 3.3 percent a year for nearly twodecades.

It also meant that by the time boomers entered their peakearnings years in the mid-1980s, the stage was set for the biggestmarket run-up on record.

The S&P 500 gained 8.8 percent annually from 1985 to 2017.That puts it in the top 6 percent of the best-performing 33-yearperiods since 1926, the earliest year for which numbers areavailable. And of the 41 periods in that 6 percent, all but threeended in 1999 or later.

Granted, there were some perilous moments over the last threedecades, such as the 1987 crash, the dot-com collapse in 2000 andthe 2008 financial crisis.

But those three episodes were relatively short-lived -- 17months on average, according to data compiled by Yardeni ResearchInc. Boomers who managed to hang on were richly rewarded.

Millennials, on the other hand, were born under a differentstar.

They began showing up for work in roughly 2004. Despite theintervening financial crisis, the S&P 500 has gained 6.5percent annually from 2004 to 2017, a real return of 4.4percent.

No matter how you slice it, the market is miles more expensivetoday than it was when the boomers were at a comparable stage intheir careers.

Which means that millennials can’t expect the same payoff fromU.S. stocks as their parents.

Not yet, at least. Millennials will soon enter their peakearnings years. They should root for recent market turmoil toturn into a long rout.

And if their wish is granted, they should shovel as much moneyas possible into the market.

It won’t be easy. For one thing, millennials don’t think theyneed any help.

In a recent survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company of NorthAmerica, 77 percent of millennials said they feel financiallyconfident, compared with 67 percent of boomers and 64 percent ofGeneration X.

In addition, millennials are likely to feel some pain if themarket tumbles further. They’re more diligent savers than theirelders.

Of millennials surveyed, 48 percent said they contribute 10percent or more of their income to their 401(k) plans, comparedwith 44 percent of boomers and 36 percent of Generation X.

More millennials than members of Generation X said that theysave money each month and that saving for retirement is a basicnecessity. Those savings would be squashed temporarily in asell-off.

Millennials also stand to inherit an estimated $30 trillion fromboomers, and that money would most likely get squeezed,too.

The biggest challenge, however, is that millennials may not havethe nerve to buy after a bust.

A whopping 57 percent of millennials surveyed said they would beunlikely to ever invest in the stock market, compared with 33percent of boomers and 43 percent of Generation X.

And that’s nine years after the last bear market. Imagine howthey’ll feel after the next one.

It’s a big world, of course, and millennials can find lots ofattractive places to invest.

Still, a sale on U.S. stocks would help. So here’s my wish foryou, millennials: May Mr. Market grant you a long bear market andthe wisdom to know what to do with it.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion ofBloomberg LP and its owners.

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