TUNING OUT THE NOISE WHILE STILL BEING PREPARED

By Nick Kendall

I remember during my high school years the work I put in each summer in preparation for the first day of two-a-days for our football season. The day we left for summer break my mind was already dreading the physical tests we would have the first day of practice in August. Our coaching staff would test us for the mile, and our max in strength for the bench press, power squat, and incline. If I hadn’t prepared by working out those 90 days between the tests in these areas in May and in August, I would risk showing my lack of preparation for the upcoming season. This fear is what drove me to get my work in!

Preparation and work with our financial planning lives feels very similar. You have to have a goal to pursue which motivates you to plan steps of implementation in order to pursue the dream of the task you’ve put before you. The idea that you might not be prepared fosters emotions which, for most of us, motivates us to get our financial lives in order.

One of the biggest hurdles to meeting the goals before us financially is the noise around us, especially with the media. When I was working out those summers, I’d have moments of polarization when I heard how hard my peers were working out. The thought that I wasn’t going to be as prepared as they were tempted me to wonder, “Why even try?” When I realized most of these stories were exaggerated in order to look better than others, my focus shifted to taking care of what I could control. I had to “tune out the noise” to be my very best.

In the past 90 days we have just experienced one of the quickest recoveries in the history of the S&P 500. ^[1]The S&P 500 on Friday (June 27th) notched its first new high since February, capping a dizzying 24% rally from the depths of April’s tariff-induced selloff. The wild 89 trading days in between records marked the swiftest-ever recovery back to a closing high after a decline of at least 15%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Think about what we were hearing in late February through April. The trade wars the current administration were delving into were creating angst, but like normal, the media exacerbated the matter by promoting prognostications which simply were unknown, yet fostering more fear.

By contrast, what do we at Financial Professionals try to do consistently over time? We want to help you stick to your plan while tuning out the noise! These 90 days have proven to us, once again. that we can’t predict, or control. the future. Our country has seen vacillations in and out of many trade negotiations with most of the world, a continued war in Eastern Europe, and unrest in the Middle East where our country has had involvement. Most of us, if we were to be honest, would predict these events would have had major disruptions in our markets. Instead we are currently on the back end of a historical recovery. What does the future hold? We don’t know. We do know to put into action the things we can control.

• Have financial planning goals
• Tune out the noise while pursuing your goals
• Take steps to implement the needed actions to meet your goals.
• Tune out the noise!!!
• Trust your plan!!!
• Keep tuning out the noise!!!

Please be reminded we are continually here for you. We are partnering together with you to design a plan to meet your goals, use our tools to put your plan in motion, and coach you through the ups and downs of what may come our way which are beyond our control. Reach out to us at any time to talk through your plan, and any concerns or questions we need to address to help affirm you about your financial plan.

Have a great rest of your summer!

Please Note

When it comes to how frequently you should monitor your investments, there are two unhealthy extremes, with ‘never looking’ at one end of the spectrum and ‘obsessively looking’ at the other end. May we suggest using our quarterly commentary as a prompt to review your accounts, helping you avoid both extremes? You can review your current accounts by logging into www.cirstatements.com. If you have never logged into that site, please call our office and we will be happy to help you register.

^[1] https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/historic-rebound-sends-s-p-500-to-new-highs-44775c62?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1