Portfolio goals

Has rising inflation got you down? In our last piece, “Understanding Interest Rates” we explored how rising and falling interest rates can impact a healthy economy. Today, let’s add inflation to the conversation.

Just like that, two years have passed since spring 2020. Two years since none of us had a clue how long COVID would linger… nor how quickly today would arrive. Time can confound us that way, magically managing to crawl and fly at the same time.

How do you invest your money over the long term? If you’ve read much of our work, you’ve probably noticed we embrace evidence-based investing, but what does that mean?

Have you been reading the daily headlines — watching markets stall, recover, and dip once again? If so, you may be wondering whether there’s anything you can do to avoid the motion sickness.

Today, in a whole new year, let’s talk about parts versus wholes. The theme is hardly new, but it bears repeating, lest we forget how essential they both are — to each other, to us, and to our financial well-being.

“The American marketplace is an economic jungle. As in all jungles, you easily can be destroyed if you don’t know the rules of survival… but you also can come through in fine shape and you can even flourish in the jungle — if you learn the rules, adapt them for your own use, and heed them.” — Sylvia Porter

KEY TAKEAWAYS

We’ve learned a lot about investing over the past 60 years, a period that has seen many breakthroughs in the world of finance. What we know comes from studying public markets and is grounded in serious academic research. The lessons are clear: Investing in markets is an excellent plan for meeting long-term goals, like maximizing your retirement income.

Sixty years after imagining the project, and after both had passed away, why did the famed artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrap L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in silvery-blue fabric and red rope (which became an especially ethereal nighttime display)? 

Whether you’ve been investing for decades or are just getting started, at some point on your investment journey you’ll likely ask yourself some of the questions below. Trying to answer these questions may be intimidating, but know that you’re not alone. Your financial advisor is here to help.