To Rise Above It All…

The stock market has been hammered as of late. You already know this. I’ve offered a number of strategies and tactics in recent emails that a number of our client families have used to either stop the bleeding or simply to change the way this market season is viewed, while staying the course. I will not repeat those thoughts here again, but I want to share something that may end up being related.

I carried the stock market burden with me into church last weekend. In fact, I attended by myself, My wife, Carie, is participating in a six-week Air Force training school in Florida, so I leaned on the greatest parents and in-laws a person could ask for, and had my five beautiful daughters out on loan to them for a sleepover. After almost two weeks of both caring for my girls and carrying out client progress reviews that are almost exclusively focused on the happenings of this dismal stock market, I needed to refresh a bit. So I sat in church, by myself, and waited for something to happen. And it did.

What I rediscovered, for probably the several hundredth time, was the fresh perspective one gains when the focus is taken off the here-and-now, and placed on something bigger, something longer-term, something more meaningful than just me. Church can have that effect. What struck me was the peace I felt when I began to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“The Dow”) through the lens of a 20 or 30-year perspective. It became crystal clear that one must view economic growth by the long arc of history rather than today’s 200 or 300 point drop.

Now, before you jump out of your chair and scream about the fact that this is your money – your life savings – we’re watching disappear, please know that I get it. I take no solace in losses…none. What I’m trying to illustrate is the power that we all have to rise above it all…by simply choosing to. With one simple decision, we gain an entirely new perspective. This can have the power of melting away the frustration in order to find the clarity necessary to make sound long-term decisions. It is in this frame of mind that we should approach investing and planning decisions.

Finally, I hope you’ll oblige me by allowing me to pay tribute to my Dad’s brother, Bob. He’s very likely living his last days as I write this and he surely has no idea the impact he’s had on so many others. The man oozed passion in so many pursuits, whether it was his world-class knowledge of antique toys or finding great satisfaction in knowing just the right route to take to get you where you’re going (“So here’s what you want to do: take interstate 91 to…”). An avid hunter, fisherman, and an all-around good guy, it’s people like Uncle Bob who influence so many people in such meaningful ways. You’ll be missed, Uncle Bob. It was truly a life, well-lived.

All the best,

Adam Cufr, RICP®