Pete ThoresenWhat an incredible year we've just experienced. Words like volatility, correction, bear-market, inversion, and recession have all been tossed around like confetti at a parade. Sometimes these descriptors have had proper context surrounding them, yet most of the time they are simply headliners intended to grab our attention. The media knows that these fear based descriptors are very effective to grab our attention, but are they really helpful to you or me? Think about how you feel when hearing these words? Other words like anxious, nervous, stressful, and worried come to mind, and these feelings can sometimes motivate us to make poor decisions when it comes to our finances or investments.
These emotionally led outcomes can have adverse consequences and is a lesson that many an investor has experienced or has heard about before. Hence, a strategy to avoid this outcome has evolved over time, and has been coined, "stay the course". Whether or not this strategy is right for you, it does not mean - doing nothing. Neither does it mean to pretend nothing has changed or simply ignoring changing circumstances. If we apply the phrase to driving cross country, and our trip encounters mechanical trouble, a detour, or a closed bridge, we make adjustments and get back on course. The alternatives are to give up on the destination or try a short-cut to make up for the detour. Yet, doing nothing or ignoring the detour sign is not much of an option.
Financially speaking, staying the course means re-connecting with your original objectives, and making needed adjustments. Re-balancing your investments to your original allocation is the most basic. This should be done periodically no matter what kind of market environment. Next, examine your spending, and/or your ability to save more. One potential silver lining of this market environment can be to remind you to re-prioritize your goals and objectives, and see if saving a bit more now versus later - can help you stay the course later on.
Pete Thoresen
Financial Advisor
Focus Financial Network, Inc.
1000 Shelard Parkway, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55426
952-225-0344 direct | 952-591-9770 main office
Securities offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Focus Financial Network, Inc., a registered investment advisor. Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice.
