Market optimism

I’m back in Amsterdam for a couple days working out of the office here before I go to Spain for a week long vacation. It’s nice being out here again… even the jet lag can’t kill my vibe right now. Seriously though, someone needs to help me fix my jet lag issues. I already suck at sleeping and going across the world makes my life miserable for at least a week.

On another note - 2 years and a day ago today on March 16, 2020, was the largest single day drops in S&P 500 and Dow Jones history. I recall the next 2 weeks after that to be one strange one. Some investors and analysts began calling for doom and complete economic failure in the coming weeks. People were panicking and selling anything they could.

While I lived through 2008, I wasn’t old enough to have money in the market or have a 401k. I didn’t know how to react. So I tried to learn from some of the smartest and rationale people in the industry. I read. I listened to podcasts. It helped me keep my calm and hold onto my positions although of course I nor anyone else in the world knew what would happen.

Fast forward a few months later and we saw a V-shaped recovery and a subsequent bull market began. My stocks were hitting all time highs again and again. It was a huge period of wealth growth.

Yes - my positions are down quite a bit from those all time highs. Yes it hurts. I am not trying to say that a V-shaped recovery will happen once again later this year.

So why am I optimistic on the markets? Because history has shown that the markets have continued to grow over a long enough time horizon. Corrections are normal in the market. I do not spend my precious time trying to outsmart the world and time the markets.

Things will be better in the future - when that happens, no one knows. I do know that I’ll be glad that I didn’t panic and stuck to my guns.