The Dow has continually had its uptick, reaching a record high of 15,000. And every week, as the markets move higher, more people begin to doubt the credibility of the recent run.
Investing is a funny thing; investors tend to believe that when things are bad within the marketplace, they will always get worse. And when things are good, they will likely get worse (the mentality that things can’t be this good). It’s easy for us to get caught up in the media and every analyst or professional trying to spin the current environment in the best possible way to sell their product. But what levelheaded investors need to try and do is to block out the minutia and noise and focus on the facts. The common flaw for investors is to constantly turn their attention shorter term, rather than sticking to their longer term goals and objectives. If investments don’t perform well, these investors look to chase those that have performed well and then they usually find themselves getting burned.
What we have right now is a bull market, which is something that a lot of investors aren’t used to. And the newness of this is making people nervous. It is kind of like a person in a new job; when they take on a new task or are thrown into a new situation, they become nervous. Then, after a few times, they don’t become so nervous and it begins to get routine.
And the fact of the matter for all of this is that, despite the issues within the world or economy, markets have found a way to rise. The arguments can begin as to why this time is different, but I find it likely that others had the same arguments in the 70s and 80s and those that were afraid of the markets are kicking themselves now.
