Hello friends,

As concerns about COVID-19 continue to spread and more of us find ourselves having to disrupt our daily lives to avoid spreading the disease, it’s easy to let ourselves become increasingly anxious about our financial futures. We are here to be a voice of reassurance and information for you.

First, let’s take a look at what is actually happening with the novel coronavirus. Johns Hopkins University has a map tracking cases and outcomes. You can see it here. As of now, there are about 246,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, and approximately 10,000 deaths. What the media is not telling us, though, is that there have been 86,000 documented cases of recovery from the disease. People are getting through it, getting better, and living their lives. In fact, the rate of infection might be much higher than the confirmed cases indicate, as a great many people experience very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Second, we know you are worried about your investments. Some of you have received statements showing losses in your stocks. That is painful, we know. No one enjoys losing money. But it’s important to know that while stocks are dropping, bonds are often rising, and most of the people working with us have 40-60% of their portfolio in bonds. That means you can continue (in most cases) to draw income from your assets for long enough for the market to recover. Your portfolio is designed to be resilient in downturns.

Most of us have been through the stock market dips in 1987, 2000, and 2008. We have seen the market recover and reach new highs each time. We may see a recession this year, but historical precedent shows that we will likely experience a recovery. We encourage you to keep living your lives to the fullest extent possible and enjoy yourselves with confidence that we are looking out for you and making informed decisions on your behalf. And as always, we are here to listen.