“As the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard noted,
life can only be understood backwards—but it must be lived forwards.”
― Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor
Hi <<First Name>>,
With parts of the economy out of work and other parts overwhelmed, my heart goes out to everyone who is really hurting both financially and physically from the spread of this virus. And to our leaders who are having to make tough decisions that affect millions of lives. They are having to make these decisions forwards not backward, maybe even in fast-forwards… not knowing until later, with the benefit of hindsight, if they were the best decisions or not.
According to infectious disease experts, it would be realistic to presume that 40-70% of the US population could become infected with the coronavirus. Some will not have any symptoms, the overwhelming majority of people will get symptoms and then get better. However, according to our local infectious disease expert, about 5% of those who contract the virus will get sick enough to need hospitalization and half of those will require intensive care. If you do the math on that, well that’s a lot more folks than our hospitals and healthcare system can handle all at once. So, anything we can do to slow the spread and therefore slow the flow of patients into the healthcare system will help prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed…and keep doctors from having to decide who gets treatment and who doesn’t. It could be you, or someone close to you… or someone you don’t even know.
To do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, we will not be having in-person meetings for the next couple of weeks. We are still monitoring the markets, the situation and are available through phone, email and virtual meetings. If you have concerns about anything at all, please get in touch.
Now to the markets - The markets will reward you for hanging in there. The reason that stocks, over history, have provided such excellent returns is that they put us through times like this. Here are some things to look for. We need to see less extreme intra-day swings, which could signal that we are near the bottom and the selling has stopped. We also need to hear good news on the virus; there is plenty of bad news contributing to the turmoil. Also, very smart people are working on treatments that could be effective.
This is a great time to be extra generous if you can. Support your local charitable organizations that provide food and assistance to folks in need… the need is growing every day. We will get through this. And I expect the recovery when it comes, will be swift given low-interest rates, liquidity in the market and… well, I was going to say all the incoming stimulus but it appears that some of our politicians want to turn even that into a grab bag for special interests instead of focusing only on what the country needs right now.
We’ve included some Time Tested Investment Strategies from American Century Investments, a short blog post from Seth Godin that’s worth thinking about, and also I highly recommend watching the video below: Coyote and Badger Caught Playing on Camera. For some reason it just makes me feel good!
Stay safe, Be kind, Love your neighbor!
|
|
