We are nearing the peak of hurricane season, and too often, we lose ‘sight’ of our long-range vision because we are inherently too near-sighted with storms on the horizon. This is perfectly understandable, as we ignore these events at our own peril but may I encourage you to use this upcoming season to strengthen your far-sighted perspective.
What if we take a little trip through the potentially not-so-friendly skies this season?
Picture yourself sitting in an airport terminal waiting for your flight where you watch the weather on the monitor in the gate area. You see that there is a long line of thunderstorms between you and your final destination. At this point, your mind quickly goes through the battery of questions that this scenario invites. Will my flight be delayed? Will I make my connecting flights? Will we fly over or around the storm? Will the storm cause issues back at home, like uprooting a tree or a bolt of lightning to the house? So much uncertainty, but you can clearly see the line of storms with varying degrees of intensity on the radar.
Finally, you board the plane, and the pilot gets on the intercom to let you know that he will indeed be flying around the biggest thunderclouds that are over 35,000 feet to avoid the worst of the turbulence. If they had stayed around 20,000 feet, you would have flown over them, but to be safe, your “pilot” will adjust your flight plan accordingly. The pilot does this in just a few minutes, and you are on your way to your destination. The good news is that it does not appear to be a hurricane like the one you survived two years ago.
When it comes to flying, you trust your pilot and the plane you are flying on.
I want you to think about your financial advisor as the pilot, and the financial plan you put together to safely reach your financial destination is the plane. There are all kinds of aircrafts, and your pilot needs to find the best kind of “plane” for your trip. Is it a model that is aggressive with 90% equity and 10% fixed, 70/30, 50/50, tax-free, etc.? Those are some of the types of planes you will choose from. Your pilot must also help you pick the best route around the financial storms, communicating with you to make sure you are in your seat with your seat belt fastened to keep you from hurting yourself on your journey to pursuing your financial goals.
Sometimes the flight will be bumpy, and you will not always pick the best route because weather patterns like economies are tough to predict.
The difference is a seasoned pilot has seen plenty of weather challenges, so you are not on this flight alone. It’s wise to remember that no one can perfectly predict the weather, and neither can anyone perfectly predict the markets.
September 2022
