Where Will You Focus?

Where Will You Focus?

My friend and I were talking, and he shared that the stock market was stressing him out. I chuckled a little and explained to him that wealth is built over time. We have been having these conversations over the course of the last year as he has started paying more attention to the stock market and making investments, purchasing a lot of the names that are widely talked about or that he hears about from his friends. He watches the markets a lot of the day and is looking at his investments frequently. With the ease of investment apps, it is easy to look every few minutes.

I have had the benefit of being in the profession for over 20 years. I started as an intern helping those I worked with to look at the income that was generated from clients’ portfolios and when they would be receiving their interest and dividend income.

I have also had the benefit of being in the industry during the market decline that started in September 2007 and bottomed in March 2009. It was not a fun time period as clients’ portfolios declined, including my IRA and 401k at the time. I’ve also watched the uphill climb that has mostly continued for the last 11 years. I remember when we nicknamed an intern because the Dow Jones was hitting 10,000 – a point that seems so long ago, but that was in 2009. As I am writing this, we are nearing record highs at 33,900.

They say that hindsight is 20/20. I have had the experience of being able to remember some of the daily events of the last 20 years. Some of the day-to-day market movements were not fun to watch. There was one day due to a flash crash that the DOW was down almost 1,000 points within a matter of moments.

Now as I look back, I realize that while the day-to-day might have been concerning or exhilarating, depending on the day that you chose to look at, the real test of time will be looking at your investments and financial plan over the course of decades. I just heard a phrase by Morgan Housel in his reference of Warren Buffet, “his skill is investing, his secret is time.” Warren Buffet has the benefit of having investments over the course of almost 80 years.

Are you watching the stock markets on a daily basis? Are you looking for someone who will help you navigate through the decades as you look at both the markets and your personal financial plan? I can help.