You might be thinking to yourself:
But Richard, it’s different this time. The Fed is tightening. We’re at full employment. There’s uncertainty around the tariffs. The rest of the world is in or close to a bear market. Interest rates are (were?) rising. The yield curve is inverting. And dot dot dot….. You can fill in the blanks.
These things all seem to be true or true-ish. We certainly could be heading for an economic slowdown which could bring further pain to the stock market.
However, losses in the stock market are nothing new. Trying to guess their timing or magnitude in advance is a fool’s game. Knowing what we know today doesn’t help predict (with any accuracy) what’s going to happen next.
To survive this inherent uncertainty, especially in retirement, requires an investment strategy that’s durable enough to withstand either scenario without wrecking your portfolio, your income, and/or your psyche.
The risk of loss is the one constant in the stock market that will never go away.That is why we preach that you must have a method by which you are able to generate a guaranteed reliable income stream you can’t outlive so you can maintain your lifestyle no matter what is going on.
