You know what’s worse than sleeping through your alarm on a Monday?
What?
Waking up to this:
Ugh I know. I convinced myself Putin was bluffing. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
I didn’t see it coming either. Turns out psychoanalyzing a dictator from 5,000 miles away is tougher than I thought.
This comes on the heels of your covid prediction. You told me that would last how long? A couple months, I think?
I’m dead last in my World-Defining Moments Bracket Challenge. Predicting the future is difficult, it appears.
It is a crazy time to be alive. We have the Russia/Ukraine conflict amid a lingering pandemic with toppings of high inflation, a midterm election, and changing Fed policy.
Even the most optimistic among us can be swayed by this.
I didn’t know a bull could shed his horns? Is someone turning sour on the market…?
You know I’d never turn my back on Mr. Market. However, these risks are coming in droves and they are serious. Inflation is the highest it’s been since the early ‘80s and we’re witnessing the first major European conflict in decades. Try not to blink.
Are you making any moves in your portfolio?
No, sir. I know time in the market beats timing the market 99 times out of 100, so I’m staying put.
How about your clients? Are they losing self-restraint? I imagine you’ve had to hit the sell button a few times.
Fortunately, no. The sell button has been hit a total of ZERO times throughout this.
Really? Are they just numb to it at this point?
I wouldn’t say that. They have seen their fair share of headlines before but this reaction is different.
How so?
Both when covid began and when the Russian invasion started I made a point to call several clients. The market was tumbling and I needed to check in on them.
Yeah…
So I’d start and say, “Hey, I know the market has been rough lately so I wanted to see how you were doing. Do you have any concerns about the portfolio?”
Their answer…
To my surprise, it was a calm, “No”, every time.
So they weren’t worried about anything?
It’s interesting. Their reactions to the Russia/Ukraine conflict and covid are mirror images of one another: “Will, I’m more worried about humanity than my investments.”
Well that’s certainly thoughtful of them.
Thoughtful?! That’s angelic. Some of these people are losing 10, 20, 30 percent of their retirement portfolio. This means logging into your account and seeing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars evaporate in a matter of weeks.
What’s their secret?
Honestly, I have no idea.
Aren’t you close with these people?
Certainly. We are regularly discussing their financial goals and delve into the technicalities of financial planning. It’s interesting but these recent events have had a different feel to them.
In what sense?
The tables were turned. I was now the student. The day’s lesson was a master class in maintaining perspective.
Easy there, cornball.
I know it’s a bit cheesy. But the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
What exactly is that?
It’s that whatever the account balance looks like in 30-40 years, I want to have the same mindset. I want to think of others less fortunate before I bemoan some stocks going down. That’s what I want. That’s the ultimate end game.