Stay Between The Fences
One thing Blossom does uniquely well is portray peopleās raw thoughts and emotions.Ā
Things seem to be polarizing and escalating. At least thatās what Iāve gathered from my scrolling.Ā
On one side of the spectrum, I see the wealth preservers sounding the alarm bells. These are mostly the older generations, Gen X and Boomers. Many of whom have been expressing caution for years.
On the other side, I see those captivated by the hype and euphoria. Their rocket stocks are literally blasting off and heading to the moon. Memory, semiconductor and AI stocks are all the rave and providing jaw dropping returns. These are mostly the younger generations.Ā
Not long ago this was Silver and Gold, more recently Oil. All of which are now boring and not really trending.Ā
The wealth preservers likely invested through 2008, and maybe even the dotcom crash. Maybe they even lived through the high-inflation 80ās. These events can permanently condition their investing views and philosophy.Ā
Is this negativity bias?Ā
(Where negative events tend to hit harder than positive ones of equal size)
Or is it wisdom?
The answer is likely both.
If these negative events led older investors to avoid reinvesting in the market, they've missed one of the most epic bull markets in history.Ā
Or maybe their wealth has surpassed their wildest dreams because they chose to keep taking risks and ride the bull regardless of all the noise.Ā
We donāt get to choose the point in history we are born into.
But the wealth preservers have one thing most Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha definitely do not have (yet):
WEALTH.
Obviously, just because your age is a higher number does not directly mean you are wealthy. Wealth is usually the byproduct of hard work, good decisions, saving, and investing.Ā
But for example, if you are 65, have a significant portfolio, and could simply live off fixed income or interest on cash: your worldview and goals are completely different.Ā
You are playing a different game.
You are quite literally insulated from most risks if you play your cards right. A black swan event, rising inflation, or a nasty bear market will likely not destroy your retirement. It may simply mean less consumption, more caution, or maybe a lower withdrawal rate.
That is very different from someone in their 20s, 30s, 40s still trying to build wealth.
Investing is unique to YOU and YOUR situation.Ā
Your age, your goals, your risk tolerance, your time horizon. Your financial reality.
If you are 20 and have 40+ years to invest, it's very different from if you are 65 and financially independent.
If you're in the wealth accumulation phase, that doesnāt mean you should pivot and chase the hype stocks or trends.Ā
That's a lesson you can learn the hard way yourself, or learn from other experiences of others.
Wealth preservers can provide valuable lessons. So can older investors who made mistakes and ended up with little wealth to preserve. Especially those who did not invest at all or take enough risks in life.
You can use all the available knowledge and data to make a durable evidence-based 30+ year investing strategy.Ā
Itās really not rocket science. The problem is that it can be boring, and it's a marathon.
Or you can fumble the ball a few times in your early years until you've learned. Or maybe you get lucky! Even with luck it often leads to overconfidence or arrogance.Ā
Nobody actually knows the future.Ā
We are all stuck in the present, making educatedĀ guesses about what the future holds. We all have access to the past to make our own individual decisions.
Like my Opa has always said: āStay between the fences.ā
You need to invest using a well thought out strategy with sensible boundaries. Donāt drift too far in either direction into reckless territory.Ā
Donāt let emotion, ego, greed, fear, or impatience push you outside the guardrails.
The fences are different for everyone, but everyone needs them.Ā
I know what my strategy is and Iām sticking to it. Cheers š»
