Thursday 9 June 2016

[Article] While You Were Worrying… by Ben Carlson

I like to read. I read a lot. Articles, books, blogs... you name it. When I read something that hits home I share it. Today, I read an article by Ben Carlson (his blog here) which sums of my thinking. We spend too much time worrying. Ben puts it best with:
My general feelings about the markets are as follows: 
  • Yes, we will have bear markets and crashes in the future.
  • Yes, we will have periods of low returns in the future.
  • Yes, we will have recessions in the future.
  • Yes, risk management is important, but risk avoidance means return avoidance.
  • No, spending all of your time worrying about these types of events is not a good way to manage your portfolio or live your life.

Bad stuff is going to happen in financial markets. It is impossible to predict when so there is no point in worrying about it. So if bad stuff is going to happen, why invest? If you believe in business, then you have to believe in investing. As long as businesses continue to sell products and services and grow the value they sell on average over the long-term, you should do just fine. Of course, if Karl Marx has his way and a free-market system no longer exists, then you need to consider your options.

Here is a link to Ben's article. Put it on your reading list.

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