At times, 2020 has felt a bit like living in the Twilight Zone. So, to borrow from Rod Sterling, “Imagine, if you will, that today is December 31, 2020.”
Oh, goody! I just love getting my end of year statements! I’ve got the whole pile right here. Let’s see how I did…
Hmm… based on these numbers, it looks like it must have been a pretty boring year. The stock market went up a titch… bit of a ‘nothingburger’ then, I guess. Well, what’s on Disney+?
As we all know, 2020 has been anything but uneventful, and I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s struggles. I simply want to point out that when a moment has passed, we tend to compartmentalize the data into calendar years. We absolutely do that with investment returns.
When we imagine today as the end of 2020 and look at our investment returns, the free-falling 34% decline in the S&P 500 and the monumental 54% (!) recovery more-or-less back to par are subsumed into a malaise of boring. That may well be how future investors view 2020. We might feel that we at least deserve an asterisk in the future historical record for the trouble we’re going through, but I’m pretty sure people have felt that way before.
I make no predictions as to where the market will be by the real end of 2020, only that it will come, and our actions as investors should remain constant: identify goals, implement a plan to achieve those goals, and stick to the plan. It has worked so far, right?
If you’ve already worked with us to implement your plan, thank you. We sincerely appreciate the trust you continually place in us. That trust has never been more humbling than during 2020. If you or someone you know could benefit from reviewing your plan or putting a plan in place, please reach out to Jonelle Joyner at jonelle.joyner@mutualofomaha.com to schedule a planning session.
Kyle Swan, CFP®
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