I sent the below letter out last week to my clients. After re-reading it today, I decided to post it here for everyone to read.
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 feet apart, if necessary.
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 you and I have long prepared for by making smart, responsible decisions about allocating assets and diversifying holdings. We based your portfolio on Nobel prize-winning investment strategies 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 I am monitoring the markets and your investments with extreme diligence to keep us well-positioned for positive days ahead.
Because prosperous days will come again. They always do.
Let me leave you with a story that illustrates how I view market downturns. You may have heard this before, but it perfectly explains my 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 of 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 I’m the hired hand who keeps you safe while the wind blows. I hope you think so, too, and if there is anything more I can do to “lull you to sleep,” please let me know.
I hope that you and your family are staying safe and healthy! If you want to talk, for any reason, just hit reply and we can schedule a time for a phone call or virtual meeting.
Regards,
John
John P. Chladek, MBA, CFP® is the President of Chladek Wealth Management, LLC, a fee-only financial advisor with a fresh approach to financial planning and investment management. Committed to busy professionals and entrepreneurs in Kansas City. For more information, visit http://www.chladekwealth.com.