During global illnesses history has shown us many things about the events. But ultimately, we have been able to look at a timeline of events that lead to an end or a stalemate of sorts. There have been many in my lifetime that we can look at calmly and factually now, however, when it was happening there was definitely a different feeling for many people.
We as financial advisors often have the challenge of helping our clients through turbulent markets and the uncertainty that sometimes accompanies those events. History has always been my strongest guide in helping clients get through turbulence and also to help reach confidence and prosperity by trusting in it.
Below are two charts of epidemics we have faced in recent years with the performance of two key stock indexes. The S&P 500 index shows performance after 6 months after and 12 months. The MSCI World index includes many countries in it, however, the return on 6 months is in the same trend as the S&P chart for the same periods listed. To me is speaks to the fact that more was going on in the world at those moments than just that epidemic. History is no guarantee of future results, however, it is also not a guess. I believe we can take away from our past experiences with global illness that we as a people are well equipped to work it all out.
It is not the job of advertisement media to keep you calm during these times so I am encouraging it for you and to others. If the media doesn’t have a “Headline” then they aren’t worth anything to advertisers. That isn’t going to change, but I believe that we can all share the optimism that things go up and down and come and go.
Got Question?
If you’d like to make an appointment to go over your options or answer questions, we’re happy to help.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) noted and may or may not represent the views of the Lincoln Investment Companies.