Big dreams & bear markets

Email sent to Barnaby Cecil clients today...

It's been a long time since Covid restrictions were lifted and we all hoped for a quieter period. We no longer have physical restrictions but I've talked to several clients this month who are now worried about the future for different reasons.

In a world where 24-hour news is the currency that drives our emotions, it can be easy to fall into a cycle of worry. But at times like these, it can helpful to centre on what matters. If your portfolio is down, but WealthMap shows you still won’t run out of money, how much should we be concerned?

Maybe money simply serves as a distraction from the things that matter most. Do you remember me talking about the?Big Dream 2022?

Back at the start of the pandemic, I encouraged you to visualise something to look forward to that would really move the needle in your life. Whatever that may be. I wanted to draw our minds away from the pandemic and to focus on the future. My Big Dream 2022 was to learn to kite surf in Barbados.

This July, I'm doing it, albeit in Costa Rica following some travel research. So from 23 July to 2 September, I’ll be on ‘annual leave’ (which seems like a phrase from another time). I’m going to use the opportunity to ‘unplug’ as much as possible, to teach Charlie and Otto how to swim, but you’ll be in Emma and the team’s capable hands.

Moving to challenges closer to home, last December I watched '14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible' on Netflix. It’s the story of the recently knighted Nims Purja, a former SBS soldier who climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks in less than 7 months.

It inspired me to climb something myself. So, as a start, I took the Corridor Route to reach England's highest summit – Scafell Pike. And as I clambered my way to the top, I realised that summiting a peak isn't so much different than saving for the future,?which inspired this month’s first blog post.

It won’t have escaped your notice that the markets are still in turmoil. The S&P, Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 have now entered a bear market.?

If you're wondering "What is a bear market?" or "Should I be worried?" then please?take a look at my second post, which is designed to reassure you that ‘this too shall pass’.

If you’d prefer to chat about this I’m of course always available – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

What did I do this month, now that we’re in a bear market? I doubled my pension contributions for the month.