The Dow Jones Industrial Average is destined to hit 20,000 within the next 18 to 24 months and the end of the Federal Reserve stimulus is a positive event, not a scary one, according to financial author James Altucher, managing director of Formula Capital.

Altucher told Yahoo Daily Ticker that external events like Mideast turmoil and tapering of the Fed's monthly bond purchases are not likely to stop the stock market's trajectory for long.

"Don't make your investment decision on whether there's going to be a drone attack on Syria or not," he advised.

Editor’s Note: 5 Reasons Stocks Will Collapse . . .

U.S. stocks are bouncing near all-time highs despite the world's travails. "No matter when you invested in the last hundred years, you're probably up on your money now," Altucher noted.

"The economy is growing ... the stock market is at all-time highs," he proclaimed. "There's no reason to think that suddenly for the first time in history the market will never return. The market will keep on going up with the economy."

In previous instances when the Fed pulled back on stimulus, the outcome was eventually positive, Altucher told Yahoo. "When the Fed stops putting money into the market, that means it has a lot of confidence the economy is doing better," he explained.

"Every other time the Fed stopped pumping money into the market, like 1997-1999, the market went straight up afterward. Admittedly, it took a year."

Altucher said investors should not put more than 2 percent of their money into any one stock. The key is to invest in companies where the stock is cheap relative to earnings or there is a lot of innovation.

Some companies he likes include Apple — which he believes will eventually go to $1,000 per share — Exxon and Microsoft.

The consensus of 10 stock experts surveyed by Barron's is that the Standard and Poor's 500 will climb to 1,700 by the end of 2013, which would mean a 19 percent return for the year.

Barron's noted some of the worst-case bearish scenarios have not been borne out in 2013 to date.

"What's been driving the market for the past five to six months hasn't been the bull case but the lack of a bear case," Adam Parker, head of U.S. equity strategy at Morgan Stanley, told Barron's.

Stephen Auth, chief investment officer at Federated Investors, told Barron's the stock market is paying less attention to "fear-mongers."

Editor’s Note: 5 Reasons Stocks Will Collapse . . .