facebook twitter instagram linkedin google youtube vimeo tumblr yelp rss email podcast phone blog search brokercheck brokercheck Play Pause
Things You Should Focus On Thumbnail

Things You Should Focus On

By: Mike Earl, CFP®, CPWA®



  • "Where will the market go from here?"

  • "Is there more downside to come?"

  • "Should I even own stocks?"

  • "Why do I own these lousy bonds?"

  • "How will this election affect my portfolio?"

Our emotions are mostly unhelpful in guiding our saving and investing decisions. The human brain is not naturally wired to excel at saving and investing money.

It is easier for us to pontificate about the direction of the US economy than it is to review our annual savings rate over the past three years. That is one of the reasons you work with The Wealth Group: one of our many roles as your financial coach is to help guide you toward focusing on what really matters -- and on what you can control. 

If we agree that focusing on the future direction of the market is a fruitless exercise, then where should we be concentrating our time and thought? JPMorgan sums it up beautifully in the chart below.

Views expressed are the current opinion of the author and are subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Raymond James. Information contained in this report was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing always involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss. No investment strategy can guarantee success.