History and Perspective
When making investments, we believe having a sense of history is extremely important. Especially when dealing with a year like 2022 where there has been no safe place to invest.
Let us look back almost 50 years to 1974…what were some of the headlines at that time?
- Inflation was running at 11.04%, Higher than our current inflation rate of ~8%
- We were still recovering from the 1973 Oil Crisis, today we have climate worries and energy concerns
- Richard Nixon resigned his presidency; we certainly still have plenty of political drama in our world
- Vietnam was winding down; Hopefully, the Ukraine vs Russia conflict will do the same soon
- In 1974 an enormous tornado outbreak strikes the central US and kills 319 injuring 5,484, today we have hurricane Ian hitting Florida.
- In 1974 the stock market was down 25.9% and the corporate bond market was down 4.38%, today both the stock and bond markets are having bad years.
Just like today, 1974 was not an optimistic period but the markets did bounce back. No investor enjoys down markets, but we think having perspective and continuing to look long term is the best way to navigate through these challenging times. We are already starting to see inflation indicators which are showing lower numbers in the months ahead. This should help calm the markets.
As we mentioned in prior commentary, the free money punchbowl (Covid stimulus and zero percent interest rates) had to end, and this transition is painful but important for long term economic stability.
It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day noise of the headlines, but we encourage you to stay diversified and stick with your financial plan.
Do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns as we go through this stormy period.
The Creekside Team