For both our retirement plan and individual clients we are getting a lot of the same type of questions: "What should I do now?", and "Can we talk next year...?". Obviously as we get closer to the holidays work can become even more hectic (not to mention that pesky holiday shopping). It is important to remember, though, that the market does not take this time off. Historically, December, and early January, has been a strong month for stocks (the so-called "Santa Claus" rally), so it may not be wise to ignore your portfolio.
After the last few months gut-wrenching losses, many clients have inquired about switching to cash "until this works itself out". Well, I'm not even sure what "this" is, let alone when it will "work itself out". As I've written before, we always recommend sticking to a well-defined investment strategy. Yes, there will be times when it will be challenging, but in the long-run I believe this is the best course of action.
And who knows, maybe Santa Claus will come early this year, and stick around a little longer.... we can all hope, and with solid investment advice you can be well-positioned if it happens.
05 December 2008
16 November 2008
A Time to Buy, and a Time to Sell…
The Book of Ecclesiastes elegantly speaks of life in terms of cycles. “A time to plant, a time to reap … a time of war, a time of peace…”. The stock market also moves in cycles. We have seen dramatic up moves, and gut-wrenching drops. The question I am getting is: are we at the bottom? Is it time to back up the truck and load up on stocks? The answer is … I don’t know. What I do believe, though, is that America is one of the preeminent economies in the world, and we will still be buying products from Kraft, Kellogg’s and Dell from retailers like WalMart, Amazon and BestBuy five years from now. Further, in 5 years, we will all probably look back and wish we had invested more with a Dow at under 9000.
If we are at, or near, the bottom, market history is very telling. Looking back at the last 3 bear markets, the subsequent 5 calendar years, after the bottom, have averaged a return of 14.5%. Well over the long-term (100 year) average market return of 9.6%. That additional 4.9% would earn an additional $9600 on a typical $25,000 retirement account just over those 5 years! (List of Financial Calculators.) So, while I can’t tell you we are at a bottom, I would point out another couplet from Ecclesiastes: “A time to gain, a time to lose…”. Many of us have already felt the pain of the losses, but let’s not miss out on the subsequent gains!
If we are at, or near, the bottom, market history is very telling. Looking back at the last 3 bear markets, the subsequent 5 calendar years, after the bottom, have averaged a return of 14.5%. Well over the long-term (100 year) average market return of 9.6%. That additional 4.9% would earn an additional $9600 on a typical $25,000 retirement account just over those 5 years! (List of Financial Calculators.) So, while I can’t tell you we are at a bottom, I would point out another couplet from Ecclesiastes: “A time to gain, a time to lose…”. Many of us have already felt the pain of the losses, but let’s not miss out on the subsequent gains!
02 November 2008
Investing in a Process vs. a Product
I am not the first to point out that when markets are in a free-fall, it often makes for a great buying opportunity (given the benefit of hindsight, and of course, the availability of "dry powder" to actually do the buying with.) A recent article in the November issue of Wealth Manager makes the observation that most investors tend to follow the emotions of fear and greed. They continue to buy what is going up, and sell out of what is going down. Precisely at the wrong time, though.
One way to overcome the dueling emotions of fear and greed is to have a disciplined investment process. This can be accomplished using a professional adviser, or having the time and ability to go it alone. Note, that many advisers are guilty of the same thing as individual investors, since they don't have a disciplined process, often they are just pushing a "product".
I have always maintained that I cannot see into the future when it comes to the direction of the market, but I do sleep well at night because I have a process. In my case, and with my firm it boils down to active asset allocation using low-cost investments, and making necessary adjustments as the market dictates. Investment products are difficult to judge, open up any issue of Money magazine, and they will invariably have an article pointing out the "Top Funds of Last Year" (or something similar). Numerous academic studies have shown the folly of expecting these will be the best funds to be in going forward. Again, that is merely going after a "product" and not a "process". Long-term success with investing comes with patience and discipline; both often missing in the midst of a bear market - when they are needed most!
One way to overcome the dueling emotions of fear and greed is to have a disciplined investment process. This can be accomplished using a professional adviser, or having the time and ability to go it alone. Note, that many advisers are guilty of the same thing as individual investors, since they don't have a disciplined process, often they are just pushing a "product".
I have always maintained that I cannot see into the future when it comes to the direction of the market, but I do sleep well at night because I have a process. In my case, and with my firm it boils down to active asset allocation using low-cost investments, and making necessary adjustments as the market dictates. Investment products are difficult to judge, open up any issue of Money magazine, and they will invariably have an article pointing out the "Top Funds of Last Year" (or something similar). Numerous academic studies have shown the folly of expecting these will be the best funds to be in going forward. Again, that is merely going after a "product" and not a "process". Long-term success with investing comes with patience and discipline; both often missing in the midst of a bear market - when they are needed most!
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