A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes and sometime inversions. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey is known as the scariest roller coaster in the world. Its most terrifying aspect is its signature giant drops. Since 2005 Kingda Ka has reigned as the tallest and longest roller coaster in the world. It has something in common with all roller coasters. You wait in line. You climb aboard. They scare you senseless. Then with wobbly knees you step off and wander down the midway to replace the food you just lost in your stomach. But walk away you do – assuming you did not panic and jump off on one of the huge down drops or twists and turns. This week our financial markets continue to provide a similar ride. What with a major oil shock and the continued spread of the coronavirus. I hope you did not respond to the panic of the many investors who bailed out, driving the markets down.
Many people do not have any business riding roller coasters. If you are on the terrifying ride and realize you shouldn’t be, now is not the time to get off. It would make more sense to ride it out – and when it comes to a stop you can reflect on the experience and make rational plans to occupy yourself with different activities in the future.
It is not lost on me that we are not talking about a day at the State Fair. We are talking about the impact on our life savings – retirement, maintaining lifestyle, etc. – our ability to continue life as we know it. I get it – I’m 67 and am a lot more interested in hanging on to what I’ve got than building a financial future over the next several decades. So how am I feeling?
First off, the problem is there’s a lot more that we don’t know than some really important things we do know. However, there are a few very important things that we do know:
Seventy percent of our economy is consumer spending. If everyone keeps calm, continues to spend money and carefully goes about their daily lives this “crisis” will be shortened immensely.
In the meantime, I suggest you look for:
And finally, in our firm we are taking the opportunity to rebalance portfolios (a forced method of buying low and selling high!). And, I might add, there are entertaining activities further down the midway past the roller coaster.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. The economic forecasts set forth in the presentation may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. Performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
Visit us at www.williamsfa.com. Tommy Williams is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with Williams Financial Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Private Client Services, Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through RFG Advisory, a Registered Investment Advisor. Williams Financial Advisors, LLC, RFG Advisory and Carson Group Coaching are separate entities from Private Client Services. Branch office is located at 6425 Youree Drive, Suite 180, Shreveport, LA 71105.