How to Sleep at Night During TEOTWAWKI
It doesn’t matter to what political party you belong—everybody’s worried about the election. It doesn’t matter what your ideology is; it doesn’t matter who you like or what you want. Everybody’s anxious and worried to the point of saying, “It’s the end of the world.” It’s the end of the world unless we vote a certain way, buy a certain product, or … (you fill in the blank…).
While it might be “TEOTWAWKI” (The End Of The World As We Know It), it’s not the end of the world.
The end of the world as we know it is different from “the end of the world,” and it’s different from “the world is ending right now.” The world “as we know it” is always ending, almost daily, and we are so used to it that we don’t even realize it’s happening. But when “it” doesn’t look exactly like the last time, worry sets in. The way to combat the worry is to take a longer-term perspective.
Instead of scrolling news feeds, read history. Start with Ron’s essay “A Walk Down Memory Lane,” and think about what has happened since the late 1960’s. Use the internet to go back in time and read headlines from those years. How many predictions of disaster were correct, and how many promises of utopia were actually delivered? Very few of both, as it turns out. As a country and as a species, we muddle through.
This long-term perspective informs our investing, and, as investors, we are guardedly, realistically, and defensively optimistic. We own meaningful positions in gold and energy. We are harvesting profits and increasing our money market holdings. We are still deciding whether to invest more heavily, but we will keep you informed as that changes according to circumstances.
To help offset your tendency to worry, we do our best to provide insight, clarity, and perspective through our quarterly newsletter (the Muhlenkamp Memorandum), social media, and our website’s Library.
As your money manager, we are guided by three principles:
- Don’t lose your money.
- Help your money grow and work for you as hard as you work for it.
- Help you sleep at night in the process.
We are here to talk to you about all the things causing concern and to keep you updated on what we are doing to solve the problem. We hope that helps you sleep better at night. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do.
The opinions expressed are those of Muhlenkamp and Company and are not intended to forecast future events, guarantee future results, or offer investment advice.
