Lou Holtz once said, “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
I’d like to tell you a story about a close family friend. Ryan Burt is a great kid that lives across the street and serves as my boys’ unofficial “big brother”. My boys have grown up playing baseball, basketball, riding the golf cart, wresting, and catching frogs with their “Ryno”.
After a great sophomore season on the mound and at the plate for the New Hope Trojans, Ryan (and everyone else) had really high expectations for his junior year. Things didn’t go as planned. After suffering a back injury early in the year which benched him for a few games, he just couldn’t find his way. He struggled at the plate. He struggled on the mound. While Ryan was frustrated, he didn’t panic. He responded by working hard, staying focused, and being committed to the plan his coaches had for him. New Hope made the playoffs and Ryan slowly started to find his groove when his team needed him the most. Not only did he have a couple of big hits, he pitched a one hit complete game shutout to win the 2019 Mississippi 4A State Championship against a very talented Sumrall team!
As I thought about the adversity Ryan fought through to find success, I was reminded of what we discuss with our clients every day. Things don’t always go as planned. The markets certainly don’t go straight up. The 4th quarter of 2018 was tough. From September 20, 2018 through Christmas Eve, the S&P 500 was down 20%. During that time, many equity investors fled stocks to “conservative” investments only to miss a great runup in the markets for the first half of 2019. Sometimes, the most important thing is not how we “respond” but that we “don’t respond”. I remain steadfast in my belief that the most successful lifetime investors are those that have a plan, remain committed, and simply don’t respond emotionally to short term events.
We are grateful for our relationship with you and appreciate the trust you have placed in us as your “financial coach”. As we celebrate our great nation together this 4th of July, I’ll share a quote with you by Ronald Reagan, “America is too great for small dreams”. May we all seize the opportunities that lie before us the second half of 2019.
Happy 4th!
All the Best,
Bain