Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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MARKET CHAOS: This May Take Time, Here’s How to Prepare

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Do yourself a favor. Take a vacation (everyone else is, trust me). Turn off your phone, your computer, your TV, and take a mental break from your investments for a minute. Because in times like these, and they’re quite the times, it never ceases to amaze me how all of a sudden investors get “serious” about their money. They stay up late, study hard, and pull all-nighters trying to figure it “all” out. Come on. Are you kidding me?

One of your greatest assets as a successful, long-term investor is the ability to keep your cool while others lose theirs. And as Your Survival Guy, I’m not going to make a prediction that this too will pass. I’m sure it will, but not on anyone’s schedule. Sorry.

Does this feel like a Covid lockdown to you, where the economy will suddenly bounce back? It doesn’t feel that way to me. Is this a mid-course correction? Well, let’s take a look. America’s cities are a mess, homicide rates are through the roof, Airbnb jockeys are feeling the pinch (unless you’re in Florida or other hot spots this summer), the Supreme Court is being harassed by your elected officials, Ukraine’s a disaster, China’s in lockdown for the foreseeable future, cryptos have cratered, and the list goes on.

These are not your normal, “Hey, Joe, sorry we missed the quarterly earnings, but you know what’s going on with the supply chain and inventory. Next quarter will be fine. Next question,” problems. These are tectonic shifts.

Listen, I’m Your Survival Guy. I don’t invest like it’s a game. Investing isn’t supposed to be “fun.” When there’s a choice between a 15-foot Boston Whaler or a supertanker which one do you think I choose? I have no problem letting the little guys jump my wake. I’ll be hunkered down, high up in the pilothouse during the storm, thank you.

I’ve shown you how brutal markets can be with my display of the deadliest markets this century, and we’re in the midst of another one. The carnage out there is widespread. Dividend payers are hanging tough. And yet here we are in a tough spot, and this is what I’m seeing and hearing:

  • A rush to commodities when we’ve seen a historic rise in interest rates, making bonds, hello, more attractive. This is a competition. Don’t you think bonds compete better with more attractive rates? They do.
  • ESG is a money grab for higher fees, plain and simple. Stick with Your Survival Guy and buy dividend-paying stocks that you own, you vote on, and you control.
  • Make sure you have a plan. Because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
  • Is your planner located in Timbuktu? Does he really know who you are, or are you just another brick in the wall?
  • Major firms are pushing life insurance, annuities, and carrying a mortgage. I’d get out of all three pronto. When you’re in survival mode, you gotta travel light.

Action Line: Prepare yourself. This may take a while. Let me know if I can help.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.