The start of the fall season brings excitement for different reasons. The leaves start to change color, cooler temperatures bring relief after the sweltering summer heat, and college football games play all day on Saturday (if you’re an ISU fan this year… condolences to my fellow Hawks fans). There’s lots of reasons to celebrate the arrival of fall.
Last quarter I wrote of the distorting effect fear has upon price in financial markets during panics and suggested that the long-term investor was better off focusing upon portfolio cash flow until calmer spirits returned.
Not all "hype" is good hype. Some of it is... but certainly not all of it.
Jon likes hamburgers, but I prefer chicken sandwiches. Not just any chicken sandwiches, but Chick-fil-A sandwiches, specifically a #2 deluxe with a side of fries, please. There's a reason this company is the #1 fastest-growing fast food chain in the country - they live up to their good hype.
I was in the Scottsdale, Arizona area for our annual trip to meet with clients not so long ago. Today, thinking back on that trip, what’s striking is how uneventful it was. February is a good time to visit Arizona, the clients were (and always seem to be) content. Their good cheer reflective of how well markets had performed in 2019. One client had the flu and asked that we reschedule. I didn’t see that as a problem. Libby was making a follow up trip in April and would want to meet the same people anyway. Libby’s trip, of course, never happened.
It’s been a difficult time in all of our lives, and at times I have found it difficult to pry my eyes away from the news and what seems to be constant negativity. However, I think it’s important to share uplifting and positive stories during times of trouble, and I’ve been surprised to find that although there’s bad news at every turn, I’ve been able to find good news quite often in my everyday life.