Ten Years and Counting

“May you live in interesting times” is an ominous saying based on an old Chinese curse, although the history of that is a little dubious. I looked it up because the variety of news we’ve been subjected to lately has a lot of people feeling stressed and perhaps even doomed to constant uncertainty. I don’t have any answers for that and you probably don’t either. However, I’ll suggest that optimism is a choice that can be difficult to make but at least offers a break from the stress of life.

I’m also thinking about this while reflecting on all we’ve been through in the markets during the past ten years. There have been selloffs, flash crashes, full-blown meltdowns, election surprises, political and social turmoil, wars, and a pandemic that shook our markets, economy, and culture to their respective cores. Never a dull moment or a lack of things to worry about. Maybe that’s the downside of paying attention.

So much has happened these past ten years and yet the stock market has done extremely well. Massive volatility has often been followed quickly by massive gains, so much so that only two years in the past ten saw the S&P 500 posting annual declines. During 2018 the market dropped due to a trade war with China, slowing global growth, and concerns about the Fed and interest rates. During 2022 it was inflation and, again, concerns about the Fed and interest rates. But investors did well if they bought and held quality investments, paid attention to rebalance as needed, and generally focused on what could be controlled. These investors were rewarded for their patience and intestinal fortitude while being reminded of another popular saying, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” Investing is an optimistic act often done during times of pessimism. Is that ever easy?

If you’re wondering, I’m thinking specifically of this timeframe because this July/August marks my ten-year anniversary of leaving the brokerage world and starting my own firm.

It’s always tough to charge out on your own and my situation was probably typical. I had a young family, a mortgage and not enough savings, but a dream of putting clients first, owning my own tomorrow, righting industry wrongs, and so forth. I left my former employer with nothing and they still sued me. Go figure. That, I came to find out, was more about perpetuating a cautionary tale to keep other colleagues from hanging up their own shingle as I did. I’m sure it worked to keep other would-be independent advisors chained to their desks, but it pissed me off and helped drive me when times were lean. And lean they were. Since I didn’t sell products with a large upfront commission, I had to build and wait, aided by raiding my 401(k). I like to think this paid off handsomely but doing so was nerve-wracking at the time.

Anyway, these past ten years have often been challenging but always fulfilling. I don’t think everyone can or even should own their own business, but I wouldn’t have traded my experience away for anything. All the decisions. The mistakes. All the surprises. All the stress. Not even during the dark early days of Covid, when major indexes were moving with otherworldly wildness, did I think seriously of throwing in the towel. Sure, there were times I reminded myself of the scene in the original Top Gun when Goose asks Maverick about the number for that truck driving school, but there was always another day and, as I suggested, optimism is a choice.

All kidding aside, the last ten years have been a blast and I’m excited about the next ten and beyond. I continue to build slowly for the long-term and hope to make a staffing announcement soon.

But while I’ve done the work you’ve provided the most important ingredient – your trust. I’m deeply grateful for and humbled by the trust you place in me and my staff and we hope to keep earning it.

That said, as I’ve done seasonally in the past I’m taking some time off from writing these posts. I’ll still be hard at work, just cutting the workload back a bit. If you need anything, please ask. Otherwise, have a great rest of your summer and I’ll be back to these posts again soon.

Have questions? Ask us. We can help.

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