Shake, Rattle and Roll....

Bill Haley and his Comets were not singing about the stock market, but I think the title holds some similarities to what we have seen in the U.S. over the past 12 months.  The office of the President has been shaken up by a non-career politician, many are expecting that this red-hot stock market will rattle our teeth at some point, and I suspect we will roll along as we always do.  If nothing else, we should have learned this lesson from the Great Recession.  Here we are 9 years later rolling along……  

I am increasingly being asked when the next market crash will happen.  This is a great question since the markets are surely to provide a reality check after such a run up over the last year.  However, does anyone remember 19% correction in the S&P500 index in September 2011?* How about the correction of 9.9% mid-year 2012?*

When looking into the future it is always prudent to be a student of the past.  Markets go up and then will, at times, go down.  The current Bull market is getting long in the tooth and I would expect it to cool at some point, but no one will be able to predict exactly when that will be.  That does not mean you cannot arm yourself and do your best to be prepared.  While I am not a ‘sky is falling’ type, we cannot ignore certain warning signals that the markets may be providing us.  This is not to say that you should react to the extreme, just be cognizant of the risk in your investments.  As with all my blogs and advice, you need to regularly review your portfolio to make sure your investments match your personal situation and level of risk.  It is also wise to remind yourself that investing is a marathon, not a sprint.    

Am I expecting some sort of market craziness in the coming months or years?  Absolutely.  Am I getting out of the markets? Absolutely not.  While I prefer my roller-coaster rides be at Disneyland, I do accept the fact that my investments will follow similar ups and downs. 

In conclusion, I hope you have noticed that we have been relatively quiet for most of 2017.  The media and surrounding distractions have made advising clients very hard this year.  It is always our goal to provide our clients with the best objective advice as it relates to their individual situation.  Please know that we are watching and doing our best to provide our loyal client base with timely and appropriate information.  Should you have any specific needs or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Until next time…..

Darin

*Source:  Bloomberg 12/31/2014.  Excludes Dividends.