Recently, as I was walking around my wild garden up north (I’ve included a few shots below), the verse, “Mary, Mary quite contrary…How does your garden grow?...” popped into my mind and I couldn’t shake it. As I contemplated what the original meaning behind this very old (1744) nursery rhyme might have been, I felt certain the moral was, “If you think negatively, you won’t flourish”. As it turns out, I couldn’t find that reference anywhere but instead read that the lyrics are widely believed to be referring to Mary Queen of Scotts and/or Mary Tudor (from the 16thC). And, since neither of these women fit neatly into a narrative about positive thinking (Mary I (Tudor) of England was nicknamed “Bloody Mary” after all), I’m going to press on with my intended message anyway!
We all know the US election looms large against the backdrop of an unforgiving onslaught of daily clickbait and hand-wringing. Back in March I wrote, “Upcoming US Election: A Glass Half-Full Approach”. My first sentence was, “Over the past 6-weeks or so, the number one question I’ve received from clients is, “What do you think will happen to the stock market if [you-know-who] gets back in?” In the event you missed this piece, please read HERE).
Only a few months later, it’s no longer a question from clients but rather the statement, “He’ll probably get in…”. You know who the “He” is in this scenario, so I’ll spare you from spelling it out.
I’d like to remind everyone that we can’t possibly know what the outcome will be, so the question becomes, why do we tend to find comfort in predicting and therefore expecting worst case scenarios? I’ve come to understand that it really boils down to primal human survival instinct. If we expect the worst then in our deepest subconscious, we feel safer because we’ve now “predicted the future” and that feels better (in control) than the “not knowing”. If a negative outcome does indeed occur, we can then say, “Ah ha! I was right” and there’s a sort of safety in that too.
My basic desire to maintain a hopeful and positive attitude is quite simply that I’d rather spend each day enjoying myself (and yes, that very much includes this work), than dreading the future outcome of any particular scenario.
Take what you will from my words above, but my main message here is, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK. Rest assured, I have carefully considered each and every position we own – from the interest-rate sensitive to the politically-sensitive and everything in-between. That being said, please don’t be shy. If you have concerns, I need to know about them so I know you are comfortable with your portfolio. This will always remain my primary goal.
Thank you as always for putting your trust in me to manage your hard-earned wealth. I consider it a privilege to work with all of you.
Libby
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