After months of contentious debate the country has a new President. While many view President Trump as the answer to their prayers others see his election as the beginning of their nightmare.
The stock market futures plunged overnight, before rallying in the morning to only a major sell off, and then turning around completely to a large gain. What should you do about your portfolio? Is it time to sell and hide?
Start by asking yourself, what is the goal I am trying to achieve with my investments? Is it long-term? Or am I in my investments to speculate?
If you are invested to achieve long-term goals you need to think long-term. In a perfect world you would seamlessly sell before the stock market went down and buy back right before it started to grow. However, the only way to succeed at this strategy of market timing is to own a crystal ball. Without it you are more likely to invest using Murphy’s Law—selling before the market goes up, only to buy back in at a higher level as you realize you missed a great growth opportunity.
Here is the best system for investing—determine your goals, and then execute a strategy. If you are a long-term investor don’t be distracted by the short-term noise of the daily headlines. You must stay invested to experience the gains of the market rebound. Heed the lesson of those who followed the pundits out of the stock market following the Brexit vote earlier this year. After a very short decline in the stock market, we saw a very robust rebound—particularly in the same overseas stocks so many had sold.
If you have your money invested through us, thank you for your confidence in these volatile times. If you haven’t yet invested with us, why not find out what intellectual, responsible investing is all about.