UPDATE 6.24.24: Do you feel the fog coming in? Remember, planning ahead doesn’t necessarily mean you can navigate through the fog, but it means you can hold steady and survive until the fog passes and you can get back on course. That’s far better than getting sunk by hitting the rocks because you tried to “do something.” Those losses are hard to come back from. Like the Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses, it’s much harder to navigate your way back to success after a mistake that crashed you on the rocks.
Originally posted August 17, 2023.
Your Survival Guy knows a thing or two about getting stuck in the fog. When I was a kid sailing with my family, we were heading home after a weeklong trip, and about halfway through Buzzards Bay, we were engulfed in fog.
We held our course and, before long, entered a mooring field holding no boats that we recognized. Realizing land wasn’t far, and that we were in the wrong harbor, we decided not to press our luck. We tossed out the hook and spent a comfortable night right there. The next morning, after the fog cleared, we learned we were a few harbors west of our own.
Not long after, a buddy and I were fishing outside the harbor chasing bluefish in my 14’ Dell Quay with a 35 Evinrude, when we realized we couldn’t see land anymore. It happens that fast, especially when you’re concentrating on something else. We used the compass to guess our way back, but using a fixed course in moving water is never a great idea. We sat there for what felt like days, but I’m here to write about it. Just don’t tell my parents.
Which brings me to my Investing Mistakes to Avoid: #11 FOG. This market is foggy. But that doesn’t mean you stay on the mooring forever. Investing is a lot about not knowing what’s ahead. It’s been my experience that investors don’t know their risk tolerance until they hit tough times. That’s too late.
Action Line: As a fiduciary to hundreds of investors, a carefully crafted investment plan makes hard times easier. Don’t get stuck in the fog and realize you don’t like being on the water. When you’re ready to talk, let’s.
Read every one of the Investing Mistakes to Avoid here.
