Tag: behavioral-finance

What does history explain about the future? Part 1

The last 20 years have given us three major market shocks. These resulted from the end of a tech bubble, a financial crisis and now, a global pandemic. During this time, investors have experienced every emotional high and low that can be imagined, yet in general, the approach to investing delivered by the financial services industry has not fundamentally changed. Today’s note establishes the case for why this has to change. Read on…

We are clearly in an unprecedented environment where many are referring to the novel coronavirus as an ‘invader’ of our country.  Elections are being postponed in Ohio, residents are being ordered to stay home in some jurisdictions, and businesses that normally never close are now shut down. From an investment perspective many advisors will refer to conventional wisdom as a way to calm clients. One example is the Best 10 Days Rule, and we believe it is a myth.  Read on….

By most measures, markets have entered a bear phase and are down almost 20% from all-time highs. The coronavirus, oil rout, and politics have combined to create a perfect storm in the markets. In times like these, what do we crave most? Surely, we all want to be safe and to know that the virus spread has slowed and that a cure or vaccine is ready to be deployed in abundance. We want to have control when none is available. Short of control, the next best thing we hope for under a constant barrage of bad news is…clarity.

When I first joined the team here at Blueprint, there were several "Ah ha" moments that stood out.  Coming in, I considered my role as National Sales Director to be leading the effort to broadcast the power of Blueprint’s sophisticated, yet simple story. As I reviewed our existing marketing materials, I noticed a chart comparing our Growth strategy (an 80/20 stock/bond model at its baseline) to a traditionally allocated Balanced portfolio.

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Last week, Blueprint hosted a webinar with our friend Jay Mooreland, author of The Emotional Investor. The event motivated me to reread his book, which I highly recommend. It also reminded me of the investment industry’s annual prediction cycle about what to expect for the coming year and how the market will behave based upon those predictions. Two points here: one, analysts and economists have no idea what is going to happen and two, what happens does not matter to the disciplined investor.  Read on!