Insights and Strategies
Beating the Drum - Bang, Bang, Bang…
When my daughter Ella turned one last year, my wife thought it would be a good idea to fully immerse her in music. COVID-19 made in-person music classes a non-starter, so bringing music classes home was the next best thing–i.e., buying her a full suite of instruments, including a toy drum set. While I agreed with the decision, not that I really had a choice in the matter to be honest, this past year working from my home office has been challenging to say the least. My Zoom/phone calls have been frequently interrupted with my daughter in the background beating her drum set to the latest and greatest hits from Cocomelon nursery rhymes. I love my daughter, but I must say that the constant beating of that drum, especially the offbeat thumps with the tempo of the nursery rhymes is quite annoying, and it makes working from home an unproductive endeavour when Ella is around and awake.
However, given the surge in volatility this year and the spike in uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine over this past week, the constant banging and nursery rhymes blaring in the background has been more calming than usual especially when staring at all the red on my computer screen.
First off, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine. Secondly, in terms of the markets, more volatility should be expected in the weeks and months ahead. However, that said, there are a few things we can say with a high-level of certainty:
1. It pays to stay invested - avoid the temptations to time the market, it’s a losing proposition for even the smartest minds (e.g., Long-Term Capital Management).
