Goldman's Most Trusted Voice Predicted S&P 1,675. It Closed at 903.

Abby Joseph Cohen was Wall Street's queen. After correctly calling the 1990s bull market, she became one of the most influential voices in finance—when Cohen spoke, investors listened. So in December 2007, when she issued her 2008 outlook predicting the S&P 500 would soar to 1,675 (the *most optimistic* forecast among 14 Wall Street strategists), plenty of investors took comfort.

Then reality happened.

By March 2008, Goldman quietly replaced Cohen as their chief forecaster. By September, Lehman Brothers collapsed. By year-end, the S&P 500 sat at 903.25—a mere 46% below her target. Oh, and that recession she said was "unlikely"? It became the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Cohen later defended her record, noting she'd correctly predicted recoveries in 2003 and 2009. But the 2008 miss was so spectacular it earned her the "permabull" label she'd never shake. When the most trusted voice on Wall Street tells you everything is fine *at the exact moment it's all falling apart*... well, that's why we're here.