Is it different this time? Recently, there’s been a lot of market swings from tariffs and global trade tensions.
The headlines are exhausting. It’s gut-wrenching to see your portfolio lose value.
But there have been many challenges to markets and your portfolios over the recent years – bank failures, runaway inflation, and a global pandemic. If you planned properly and worked through these times your portfolio is most likely in a better position.
The stress is back, but it doesn’t last. Together we move forward and figure it out.
Different Outcome This Time?
The song remains the same. It may be in a different key, or time signature – but it’s the same.
For example, two years ago Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed. It was chaotic. Many people were on edge about losing their money and trying to understand FDIC insurance.
I remember it well because I was working on an emergency update over the weekend for clients. If SVB failed, would other banks fail? Is my money safe?
At the time, it was a situation that was stressful for everyone but in the long term scheme it was a blip on the radar. Looking back, it’s a faded memory.
The same feelings were present with runaway inflation in 2022, and around for a long time during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Economic and Financial Markets Adapt
Markets handle uncertainty, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Companies and investors acclimate quickly – business models adapt, supply chains transform, and markets move forward.
This happened with SVB, inflation, and Covid-19. That’s what is likely to happen now.
Zoom calls used to feel a little awkward, and now they are normal and a preferred way to communicate.
Tension and Uncertainty
There’s lots of tension now. We will figure it out and we will move forward. In a short while you’ll forget about it.
We cannot predict and outmaneuver every surprise, so building a plan for surprises is a better approach.
Markets change, and your financial plan is built with this in mind. It feels different this time, but it won’t be.