I will be on the road for a week, so the blog will be taking a brief nap. No worries though, I am not fleeing the markets. Just stepping away for a short while and will return soon, refreshed and ready to dive back in.
The recent market volatility reminded me that many investors still expect someone, somewhere, to know what is coming next. Unfortunately, investing does not work that way. If it did, we would all be spending our days on a private island somewhere instead of staring at charts and economic data.
The reality is that surprises are part of investing. They always have been and always will be. Our job is not to predict every unexpected event. Our job is to manage risk, stay disciplined and position ourselves for opportunities when they arise.
Predicting short-term market action is a tricky business. Say you call for a 5% pullback, only to watch the market rally 10% first and then finally drop 5%. By then, the market could still be sitting higher than where you started. It is a bit like waiting for a sale only to discover the discounted price is more expensive than last month’s regular price.
The markets will continue doing what they do best, confusing both bulls and bears. I will be back soon.