One of the hardest aspects of this crisis is this social distancing required between you, me, friends, neighbors, colleagues, even our families! I don’t know about you, but the photos of people trying to visit their loved ones through hospital windows just tears at my soul.
In difficult times, America’s greatest strength has come from pulling together – working shoulder to shoulder – to generate the ingenuity, resilience and tenacity that solves problems and creates opportunities. We’ll overcome this crisis, too, I have no doubt. From six fee apart, if necessary.
But we have to stay connected…even as we socially isolate. That’s why you’ve been hearing regularly from our ElderAdo team while this volatility lasts–by phone, email, video, more phone calls… it’s critical we stay in touch.
One thing I want you to remember as you watch the markets and the news: You have the strength and the intestinal fortitude to survive this market storm.
Because this is a market storm…a temporary event we have long prepared for by making smart, responsible decisions about allocating assets and diversifying holdings. We based your portfolio on investment strategies, such as diversification, that have protected investors for the last 60+ years, and they are protecting you now.
Given the strength of the economy before the health crisis, some experts believe a recovery could be fairly fast and strong. No one knows, of course, and we are monitoring the markets and your investments with extreme diligence to keep you well-positioned for positive days ahead. Because prosperous days will come again. They always do. This time is no different.
Let me leave you with a story that illustrates how we view market downturns. You may have heard this before, but it perfectly explains our mission in managing your portfolio:
Years ago a farmer, whose fields stretched along the eastern seaboard, was looking for hired hands. It wasn’t easy to find help. People were reluctant to work on the Atlantic coast. They dreaded the regular raging storms that wreaked havoc on buildings and crops.
Interviewing applicants for the job, the farmer received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached him. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked. “Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the desperate farmer hired him.
The little man worked well around the farm, keeping himself busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer was satisfied with his new hire. Then, late one night, the Atlantic wind began howling in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man, yelling, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!” The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No, sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged, the farmer was tempted to fire the old man on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens in their coops, the doors barred, the shutters tightly secured. Everything was tied down, nothing would blow away. The farmer returned to his bed, and the sound of the storm wind lulled him to sleep.
I like to think that we’re the hired hand who keeps you safe while the wind blows. I hope you think so, too, and if there is anything more we can do to “lull you to sleep”, please let us know.
