When will something happen?
Meet my dog, Ranger. He’s watching and waiting! My children were not only watching and waiting for Santa in past years on Christmas Eve. But they were watching and waiting for our dog to talk too! Have you ever heard the tale of the night that the animals talked?
When my children were little, my wife read a wonderful book to them called The Animals Christmas Eve. In this story, when the North Star appears to guide the Wisemen to baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, the animals are given the gift of speech. In the end, the animals lose their ability to talk. But the moral of the story is that the animals told everybody on Christmas Eve that birth and love are miracles.
And from that time, over two thousand years ago, animals have been blessed with the gift of speech on Christmas Eve to remind us of the miracles of the birth of Jesus and his love. When my kids were young, the Labrador we had then was Jack. So, for years, my kids would be watching and waiting on Christmas Eve to hear Jack speak.
What are you watching and waiting for?
With that in mind, what are you watching and waiting for? We are all watching and waiting for something: the stock market, the weather, a response to a job interview, or somebody special to call us. You name it, and somebody is watching for something to happen and waiting in anticipation.
And many times, waiting brings with it some level of anxiety and worry. But this Christmas season, I’ll lean on the words of Maya Angelou. Be “hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
Put this on your to-do list.
My financial knowledge for this week is that as you begin the New Year, look back at your investment allocation performance. Note that I said your investment allocation and not your specific investments. Not all investments are going to perform well. How you diversify your investment portfolio will affect your overall return. You can’t only be watching and waiting. You should consider if the strategy you are using is working. Do you feel comfortable with the risk you are taking?
In investment lingo, the big picture is your strategic investment allocation. You can get into the tactical or individual investments, but the overall allocation strategy will help you better control the risk you take with your assets. Your strategic allocation will guide your tactical allocation.
The ugly truth!
Let’s face it. This past year has stunk. Almost everything is down in value. I suggest you ask yourself, are you cut out for taking risks? If not, dial it back. Look at more fixed investments or short-term bonds. People’s tolerance for risk does change. It would be best if you faced the fact that investment markets might not be like they have been in the past.
But if you are OK with watching and waiting in anticipation of a rebound, that is OK too. Just remember the second part of Maya Angelou’s quote. Be “prepared for the worst and unsurprised by anything in between.”
To help you consider different strategic allocations, I have created a one-page asset allocation model to give you some ideas of various strategic asset allocations.
And as always, remember that this information is for educational purposes only. This information is not investment, accounting, or tax advice. For those things, you need to find yourself a good fiduciary advisor. 😉
I hope whatever you are watching and waiting for turns out as you have desired. If not, don’t give up hope.
Merry Christmas,
Van
PS, here are some other great topics from my blog that may interest you.
Does Asset Allocation Still Work in 2022
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