Invest for the long term
Karolina Decker
CEO & Co-founder @finmarie | @SchulGold I Top 50 Woman Entrepreneurs Germany (Handelsblatt) I Zukunftmacherin 2024 I Angel Investor I Author | @Mind the Gap e.V | #financialliteracy #financialhealth #financialwellbeing
What a market year it’s been so far. After falling more than 30% in the early spring, markets not only recovered their losses, but they made substantial gains. By early September, the S&P 500 had increased more than 60% compared to its low in March. One of the big reasons: Giant tech companies have been on a tear. In fact, just a handful of companies, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, have driven most of the market momentum.
Right now, we’re living through a strange and challenging time. Never before have billions of people sought shelter to stem the spread of a pandemic, and never before in its 228-year history has the New York Stock Exchange been forced to operate with all-electronic trading.
Consider your long game, and continue investing regularly. Market volatility and market turbulence like we see these days are normal. Markets go up, they go down, and they sometimes go sideways. It’s impossible to predict where the market will go in the short term.
The key is sticking with passive investing and having the discipline to stay the course. To help with that, remember these three steps:
? Accept that volatility is unavoidable
? Set it and forget it with passive investing like ETFs
? Stay disciplined with optimization strategies
By choosing passive investing, you're following the financial markets' movement rather than just a few stocks or even a few asset classes. As long as the financial markets grow over time, your wealth will accumulate.
When it comes to investment decisions, choose strategies that leave emotion and human judgment at the door. In addition to passive investing, these optimization strategies can help you stay disciplined ‐ and ahead ‐ amid distracting market fluctuations.
Skip vague resolutions like "get my finances in order." Real change means specific goals and actionable steps.
Don't let the fear of down markets push you to be hasty. Trust passive investing, keep your eyes on the long term, and stay disciplined with optimization strategies.