This article was written on Friday 11/14/25.
As we left our office this morning for an 11am meeting, the US financial markets were struggling to say the least; in fact, every category in the chart below was RED (negative). This being on the heels of a rough day yesterday, and a not-so-great week overall, we thought that we ought to reach out to you to remind you of some of the fundamental principles of successful investing. And wouldn't you know it...we're back in the office at 1:10pm, and the landscape has already begun to change, such that many sectors are turning GREEN (ie positive).
It's also interesting to note that, when you pan out and take a broader look, the landscape is sometimes completely different (note the performance of various asset categories over the past month versus what is happening today).
The truth, though, is that neither of these matters when you are accumulating money for a goal that is a long way off into the future. And while there is no guarantee of what the next day, month, year, or decade may hold, it is worth noting that the past 10 years have been almost universally GREEN.
We're being very deliberate when we say above that these don't matter when you are accumulating money. When you are distributing money (ie withdrawing and spending funds from something like a 401(k) plan, for instance), volatility can be your worst enemy. You see, you cannot spend average rates of return, and poorly-timed withdrawals from your investments can be devastating.
If you're wondering how to successfully make the switch from accumulation to distribution, or if you have any questions at all about how to evaluate the risk and reward of your investments, then reach out to us to set up a time to review and discuss this.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments contain risk and may lose value.
Diversification does not guarantee profit or protect against market loss.
Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Guardian or its subsidiaries.