Muddling Through
The economic and political news has been terrible. Most
people I talk to are scared and frustrated. They are impatient and skeptical
that things will ever improve.
No one
can predict the future but usually things are not as hopeless as they seem in
the bad times and not as wonderful as they appear in boom periods. Nothing
lasts forever. There are signs that the economy is getting better. But it’s
getting better at its own pace; not as fast as we’d like.
This sluggish pace
isn’t necessarily bad for investors. As long as the economy chugs along, the
stock market is inclined to go along for the ride. If the economy surges, the
Federal Reserve has to slam on the brakes. If the economy grows too slowly, the
U.S. could sink back into a recession.
But more often than not, we muddle
through. It’s not a stirring rallying cry but for a well positioned investor, this
can produce great results. Since investors have had a disappointing decade,
they are cranky and pessimistic.
Acting on those feelings instead of
considering the many factors that go into successful long-term investing could do
even more damage to already battered investors.