Q: Sometime last year, I aligned all of my investments with the PPP. I have watched the U.S. market turbulence and ‘loss of elevation’ without trepidation while my portfolio has risen precipitously. I am very blessed to have benefit of your study, analysis, insight and advice.
A: Thank you for your kind comments. I receive a number of e-mails each month from subscribers and most of them are positive. That is great, because that’s the reason I’m doing this. I want to help people be better individual investors. Everyone should want to achieve that goal. If the things I write help you navigate that path, then I have been successful.
The run ahead will be challenging. At the risk of being overly apocalyptic, we have “come to the place where the road and the sky collide.” When you come to this place, it is easy to get disoriented. This sometimes happens when you’re skiing. In skiing, it’s much better to look far down the mountain than to look down at your skis. The same is true for individual investors. We’ve run into a double black diamond in a whiteout and we just need to get down it. We’re not worried about style or form, we’re just trying to survive so we can enjoy après ski.
It will be critical for investors to focus on their long-term goals. We have had a good run so far (a nice blue cruiser with fresh powder), and I am convinced that it is the best path to lead us to where we want to be in the future, but now things are going to get bumpy. If the level of bumpiness is disturbing to you (as it is for me), buy some CD’s. Even though cash is not part of the PPP, it is definitely not trash. I must admit, however, that my favorite cash is still gold.
Long-suffering readers know I’ve been bearish for quite a while. I think most would agree that the things I have discussed are now coming to pass and that I discussed them sooner than most other analysts. Now, as I said, we’re on the double black diamond slope in blizzard conditions. We need to try to get down without getting hurt, but there is no need to get fancy in the process.
Thank you again for your kind comments, and I hope I will continue to be a good ski tour guide.