The news changes fast but the basic fundamentals of investing don’t.

 

As we write this newsletter we are acutely aware of the fact that tomorrow's news might make these writings appear dated. I can’t predict the future so I won’t try to guess Trump’s next proclamation or whether the next proclamation has any real significance.

 

In December we wrote. “The investments I recommend and that I own myself are not the expensive headline stocks… This year is no different than any other for me to make predictions. I don’t make them. I just prepare for the unknown. In this case it means avoiding expensive stocks that are making headlines.”

 

The headlines have changed. So far this year the expensive stocks have been hammered. The Nasdaq index is down 10%. Many of the expensive stocks are down much more than 10%. We have not suffered alongside this market.

 

I can’t get a consolidated return for all of my client accounts. However, I very randomly chose one client’s accounts that are reasonably representative of all the accounts our group covers. It is up approximately 3.1% for the year.

 

It appears that we were well prepared for the uncertainty. We wrote this expecting to give you piece of mind that the sky isn’t falling and that in fact your accounts were well prepared. Please call us if you have any concerns about the current outlook.

 

We are personally holding all our U.S. investments. Selling them would be like cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. It would likely be counterproductive to our financial wellbeing without negatively affecting the U.S. economy.