There's been little room to hide in investing year ’22, with twists and turns like the highest inflation in four decades, double digit losses in both stocks and bonds and a war in Ukraine to name a few. Just like scary driving reps eventually make one a better driver, investing-wise, you must survive a lot of scary, volatile headlines and headwinds in the short run to achieve success over time.
I’ve learned a lot in my investing lifetime especially through many recessions. One of the most important lessons is that when everyone seems to be on one side of the sentiment boat, it’s important to maintain perspective so that your behavior doesn’t give in to the seduction of pessimism and capsize your investment plan.
Let’s dig into the two key questions after the recent bout of bond price declines. First is what just happened to the value of my “safe, less volatile” bond investments in my diversified portfolio? The second is what is the outlook for a typical 60/40 stock/bond portfolio after this kind of slump?
The Goldilocks stock market made a new all-time high on the first day of trading in 2022, however it quickly turned into a tumultuous month from there. This isn’t normal and means investors should be prepared for more volatility much like we’ve experienced thus far in 2022.
Dividends have made up a substantial part of the stock market’s total return, but they rarely get the headlines. Although a sloth-like dividend clipping approach is akin to watching paint dry, it remains a key tool for growing wealth longer term.
Inflation is arguably the biggest challenge investors face longer-term so putting in place a real savings and investment plan to prevent inflation’s thievery is an important first step.