Posted on 30th March 2020

Most of us have accepted the situation we’re now in and have adapted to a ‘new normal’. The bulk of the world is in lockdown (official or unofficial) and we’re treating this threat seriously. We’ve seen unprecedented government support which will benefit those most in need, and see us get through this unprecedented period. We are also reminded of how important our family and friends are, be it spending most of our days with them or keeping in touch with them virtually.

As the virus spreads, it’s clear we’re all equal. This virus does not discriminate between background, religion, vocation, political affiliation, or net worth.

This crisis has revealed that there are no real global borders. We’re all connected, and this virus doesn’t need a visa.

Lean in

Learning to ski is not only tricky, it's painful. After falling over a few times, your instructor shares with you the critical skill that’ll keep you from hurting yourself. You’re told that when you start to wobble, instead of pulling back you actually need to lean into the fall. Counter-intuitively this will keep you on your feet. Leaning towards the fall will stop it. Now is a time we need to ‘lean in’.

A quote adapted from ‘That Scottish Play’:

I have walked so far into this river of blood that even if I stopped now, it would be as hard to go back as it would be to continue. William Shakespeare.

In these testing times our materialistic culture has been exposed for what it is, excessive and arguably unnecessary. It’s clear that we can survive with just the essentials: shelter, food/water, and medicine. The luxuries have been a powerful story we’ve told ourselves. Where we were once concerned with brands, we’re now focused on simple commodities such as pasta, coffee, and shampoo.

We’ve seen that commentators with the loudest doomsday narratives catch the media’s attention. If they claim to know the market is heading further down, I wonder how vocal they were before this crisis?

Failed investors continue to make investment decisions based on economic news. Successful investors continue to make investment decisions based on tried and tested principles and practices aligned to a long term financial plan.

We still don’t know where the market will be heading. If anyone claims they do, remember this is a lie and not an untruth. I’m still relentlessly committed to my financial plan and in turn the investment portfolio that’ll fund it. All of my clients have shown ‘faith in the future’ by committing to staying invested, not changing a perfectly set up portfolio on the first sign of the storm and not getting knocked off-course by the mainstream media whose main job is to report negative news.

N.E.W.S - Negative Events World Service.

Have the darkest investment market clouds passed? We don’t know, but it would appear that the global markets have ‘stabilised’. Most of the impatient money seems to have left the market. We’ll refer again to one of the wisest investment quotes:

The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. Warren Buffett

This market decline has broken many records but we can’t allow it to break any perfectly crafted long term financial plans.

Discretionary spending

Having completed lots of spending plans (budgets) with client families over the years, it’s always been a challenge to separate out essential spending from discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is spending on the finer things and experiences in life. Eating out, holidays, theatres, and clothes to name a few.

This is an opportune time to assess your spending plans. My discretionary spending has hit the floor. I’m in a fortunate position in that I can redirect these temporary savings towards my automatic monthly investing contributions. Remember, stock market sales are the exception and not the norm.

Whatever comes out of these gates, we've got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together we survive. Maximus (Gladiator)

As always if you wish to discuss anything, please call me immediately. All my meetings are now being held remotely.

Let’s all lean in.

#WeRemember please watch this 2 minute video, it’s brilliant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAGbxKfNMuE&feature=youtu.be

Bill Gates gave a TED talk in 2015 titled “The next outbreak? We’re not ready.”

It’s well worth watching now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI&t=5s

Andy Hart & The Maven Adviser Team

p.s. This will be my last weekly bulletin. We will now revert to our usual monthly newsletter.