Author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”
What if I told you—the best clients in the world—that you (yes, each and every one of you) have that first-rate intelligence?
See, there’s something in our work together that tests this idea, just about on a daily basis. When you join us, you learn to live with the volatility in the market: it goes up and down, and we accept this as a feature of the ride.
Very often, it goes down faster and deeper than it goes up. We may expect a 5% drop around three times a year: we might see a 10% drop around every two years. Meanwhile, gains of 10% are few(er) and far(ther) between: we’ve only seen it twice in the S&P 500 this century and only four times in the whole of the last century. And those gains have usually come shortly after one of the big drops.
But we wouldn’t be in this business if, in the long run, the market went down more than it went up.
So what gives? There are two seemingly opposing ideas about the market:
- Drops go down faster, farther than gains go up.
- It goes up more than it goes down.
Clients know the secret: the first idea is all about daily events, and the second idea is about the long haul. No guarantees, of course, but it is possible that these things can both be true. We just care less about the former.
Therefore, if you consider yourself a member of the best client base in the world, then I consider you to be of first-rate intelligence.
We’ve grown a community of geniuses here at 228 Main. Want to talk more about what this means for you? Write or call, anytime.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmapped and my not be invested into directly.
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