According to his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, not even the great Warren Buffett was immune to pandemic-induced market volatility. Berkshire Hathaway’s 2020 earnings were down 48% compared to 2019. For the year, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock rose 2.4%, a relatively small ROI by Mr. Buffett’s lofty standards.
Wall Street seems to share Greg’s cautious optimism, as does my team at Keen Wealth. But when the markets approach record highs or record lows, many investors let their financial biases get the better of them. Here’s what three common biases might be telling you about the markets right now, and why you’re better off following the course you and your advisor have set out.
According to our longtime friend Greg Valliere, Washington’s political pros are already looking ahead to the 2022 midterms. And that long-term perspective is already having a major impact on Joe Biden’s agenda for the first hundred days of his presidency, as well as the financial markets and the battle against COVID-19.
This time last year, many seniors had never heard of Zoom or made a video call. You knew about Netflix and Apple TV, but maybe you were waiting for your grandkids to set them up for you the next time they visited. You had social media accounts, but those were just for sharing family photos. After learning how to connect, stay informed, and keep yourself entertained during the pandemic, I’ll bet your cell phone and other household technology are much less intimidating than they used to be. So, if your TV and movie queue is starting to thin out, this might be the perfect time to explore podcasts.
A recent study by Valuegraphics analyzed more than 500,000 surveys in 152 languages and determined that there are 56 values that drive all of human behavior. While the results did show some significant cultural differences between how these values are ranked, the top responses show that there is a lot of commonality when it comes to the really important things in life.
Today, a successful retirement requires much more purposeful planning that accounts for major generational changes in how we work and live. I believe that engineering a modern retirement blueprint starts with four essential building blocks: Health, Family, Purpose, and Comprehensive Financial Planning.