At MegaCorp, I worked with a Finance Director who use to quip that “good numbers make good meetings”. He was right – when sales and profits are up, meetings and decisions come easy. It’s a good time!
While we have always been long-term investors, the living is easy when the market and our portfolio are growing as well. While we are only two months into the year, it’s great to see the big bounce back from an ugly 2018 finish:
- Dow Jones +11.4%
- S&P 509 +11.5%
- International +9.1%
In just a couple months time it seems that the markets have completely erased all of the losses from Q4 2018 and posted a little growth to boot!
Perhaps most encouraging for me right now is the claw back of the stock of the MegaCorp that I’m an early retired of. After a brutal -35% drop in 2018, it’s up a promising +20% in 2019 year-to-date. It will need to be up double that amount to get back to where it was, but the progress helps boost the stock options we need to exercise every year.
Early retirement is a blessing regardless of short-term market returns, but it certainly puts a bounce in my step when the numbers are heading up. Has the early 2019 market performance put a spring back in your step? Or, do you not honestly follow it all that closely day-to-day?
Image Credit: Pixabay
MrFireStation 
Hate to be a negative nancy, but I don’t think it will last. I believe Vanguard that the next ten years for stocks will not yield the same returns as the past ten years and have positioned my portfolio accordingly with appropriate bond allocations and hedges against inflation.
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It’s good to be conservative and then have a happy surprise if numbers come in higher, I guess. I have lower expectations for future returns built into our FIRE financial forecast.
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I feel that if the US-China trade deal goes through and Trump doesn’t decide to stir things up with the EU after the China deal, this year and early next year could be good. If Trump moves on to the next target, then it could cause anxiety on Wall Street and kill the momentum.
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Agree that China trade is a big X factor. If he does get a positive China deal done, that gives him more leverage with the EU.
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Being in it for the long run, my advisor urges me not to look, whether news is up or down. Being human, sometimes I look – more likely when it’s up. Happy Almost Spring!
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I think once I get through my stock options, I’ll be less likely to watch it regularly. Then we can just ride on our cash reserve. Since the options need to be exercised every year, I can’t help be tied a bit to the ups-and-downs.
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Awesome one. Very much helpful. I think this article will surely help me.
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You might find this McKinsey article interesting on the challenges facing the consumer goods industry: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/the-new-model-for-consumer-goods
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Really good article! I think what happened to Kraft Heinz last week is a wake up call for executives that prioritized cost-cutting over good old brand-building & innovation.
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