The Retirement Rise 4.3.2023
The Retirement Rise 4.3.2023
Beating Malaria, Investors Beating Themselves, and a Tip for Talking about Money
This Week’s Good Financial News
Malaria has been humanity’s foe since the dawn of time. Though we do not confront it much in the developed world, malaria is still a mortal risk in much of the world. Thankfully, a new vaccine is altering that reality.
From Nation:
Cases of children hospitalisation and deaths due to malaria have reduced significantly over the past three years in Kenya, thanks to the rollout of the world’s first malaria RTS,S vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced.
According to WHO modeling, one life is saved for every 200 children vaccinated. Over 1.2 million children across Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana have already been immunized, with more to come.
Think about that for a moment. First, families have historically confronted a tragically high mortality rate. I can’t imagine the burden of care, worry, sadness, and concern.
Second, the vaccine offers a life-altering update to African nations' future health, longevity, and prosperity.
Some simple math based on the numbers above would estimate that the lives of 6,000 children have been saved with the initial rollout of the vaccine, with more to come.
That’s marvelous news for humanity.
An Investment Note for Retirees
In a tale as old as time, a recent WSJ article perfectly encapsulates the stark difference between long-term and goals-based investing and the myopic behavior of most investors.
From the article:
But individuals’ stock purchases have slowed sharply in recent weeks, falling to levels not seen since November 2020, Vanda data show. Individuals bought about $8.9 billion of U.S. equities on a net basis in the 10 trading sessions ended Thursday, down from a peak of $17 billion in the comparable period ended Feb. 16.
“Retail investors have stepped off the accelerator,” said Marco Iachini, senior vice president of research at Vanda. “It was just unsustainable. Conviction is starting to be shaky.”
Investor sentiment soured in March, with the percentage of investors who are bearish on the market rising to the highest level since December, according to the American Association of Individual Investors sentiment survey.
Most investors will always be reactive, changing their behavior based on the news (which is almost always negative) and their feelings about recent events.
Unfortunately, despite investors becoming more bearish and changing their investment portfolios to reflect this, the S&P 500 increased over 7% during the first quarter of 2023.
Your investment decisions should be plan-based and goals oriented, not subject to the whims of emotion or based on the misguided notion that you can predict the future.
Remember:
Clarify your goals
Create a written financial plan
Implement a plan-based investment strategy that helps you achieve your goals
Stick with it.
A Thought on Retire on Purpose
A tip for improving your communication around money with loved ones, friends, co-workers, and neighbors from my book, Money With Purpose:
When we talk about money, we must recognize how emotionally charged this topic is both for ourselves (as the listener and/or speaker) as well as for the one with whom we are communicating. Any perceived judgment will likely lead to your conversation partner shutting down and turning off. If you feel judgment arising within you when talking about money, acknowledge it internally and then let it go.
When I sense that I am being judgmental, I say ‘judge’ in my head, naming what is happening. I then let it go and tune back into my conversation partner.