The Woodward Financial Advisors Blog

Both the ancient Greeks and modern behavioral scientists seem to agree that one of the paths to greater happiness could be to just not look.

Descriptions of the long-term behavior of the stock market can seem a lot like shampoo instructions: the market goes up, followed by a drop, then it goes back up again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

But unbeknownst to her, my daughter gave me the best Father’s Day present that any financial advisor could ask for, when, upon glancing at the back of the Business section of the newspaper that I was reading, she asked, “Daddy, what are all those funny looking charts?”

I know there will be some great times and some terrible times and I’ll just keep rolling as long as you let me.

Diversification, by design, means that a portfolio will not be at the very top of the performance ladder, but it avoids being at the bottom as well. In basketball terms, you might not win the championship in any given year, but you also won’t exit the tournament in the opening round.

The tortoise rarely gets distracted. She acknowledges from the outset that things will not always be easy, but she accepts this as part of the journey to her greater goal. Conversely, the hare goes down rabbit holes. He concerns himself with how he should be positioned for Brexit or Grexit or the elections or the next Federal Reserve meeting or some potential geopolitical event.