– Scott Reed
As you might guess, after being in the investment business for 35 years, I get asked the question, “What is the best investment out there right now?” In times of uncertainty, as we are experiencing now, the question and the look in the eyes of the investor are both more intense. Nobody knows what to do. I have tried to answer that question but most of the time the answer is, “It depends.”
No two investors are alike. It is imprudent and a breach of my fiduciary and ethical responsibility to assume that everyone needs the same thing and to espouse certain investments over others in a public setting such as this.
Of course, there are always exceptions to everything. One of those exceptions is a chapter in my book, “Top 40 Rules of Investing.” Rule 8 says, “What you invest trumps how you invest.” That rule works for everyone. But right now there is another thing that investors can do to help their portfolios. Be responsible citizens.
It has been over a hundred years since a medical crisis has impacted the economies of the world like COVID-19 has done in the past three months. There have been a lot of different ideas on how we get through this. One idea that I hear from a lot of people is to just get out there and let it do its thing. Most people will live, some will die, and the world will go on. Although it may not be the most humanitarian idea floating around, it is, nevertheless a valid point of view. And it is brandished by a lot of people who loudly proclaim their individual rights as Americans allow them to ignore social distancing if they feel like it.
Unfortunately for those people, that is not the tactic that we have decided to take in the United States. In the USA we have decided to attempt to control the virus as much as we can until we find a medical answer. We are doing that so we don’t overwhelm the healthcare system. We do that so we don’t have to decide who may live or die based on a lack of medical equipment to treat the ill.
No one I know believes that we can save everyone from COVID-19, but having enough equipment and personnel to save those we can save is an honorable goal. So we were sent home in March and told not to come out and play until summer. Now that we are reopening I have seen time after time where people refuse to do the most basic things to help out; wear a mask and stay away from other people the best you can. It is not a lot to ask. I saw a picture of a football game played in 1918 during the worst of the Spanish Flu outbreak and everyone had on masks in the stands. It’s not new and it’s not a big ask.
Here is the investment part of this column. The worst thing that can happen to our economy, to our markets, to your retirement account, and your personal investments is to be sent home again in the fall because COVID-19 comes back with a vengeance and we start losing the battle again. That resurgence would cripple the economy and your investments.
So even if you believe that being asked to wear a mask and socially distance is wrong or violates your rights, maybe you could do it because it is the best investment you can make right now to make sure our businesses stay open and our markets continue to rebound. Maybe it’s not only a selfless act, but a selfish one as well.
Be safe out there!
