The Oxford Oracle

This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in American history.  2,977 innocent lives lost, 25,000 people injured and over $10 billion in property damage.  

Clients of Oxford are familiar with our belief that market timing is a fool's errand.  Market timing refers to the (very mistaken) belief that there is some sort of investing crystal ball that will allow an investor to get out of the market right before things get bad, and then get back in right before the market goes back up.  While intellectually appealing, the entire idea has been proven to be a failure.  It turns out that investor myopia gets worse at precisely the wrong time.  

"Know what you own, and why you own it."

For years now Cheerios have been the most widely known breakfast brand in the United States.  Everybody seems to have them in the pantry.  When I was a kid my favorite breakfast was a bowl of cheerios with banana slices and sugar (LOTS of sugar).  My Mom rarely bought the expensive sugary cereals like Fruit Loops, so I would sneak in some extra sugar into my Cheerios when she wasn't looking.

Ten years seems like a long time to measure an investment.  But which ten years you measure can make a tremendous difference.

As America continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2021, the economy and the equity markets made significant progress.  My midyear report to you is, as always, divided into two parts.

FOMO or "Fear of Missing Out" seems to be driving a lot of money discussions these days.  Whether it's hoarding Bitcoin, multiple homebuyers making bids over asking price on houses, or day trading in "meme stocks" like GameStop and AMC it's clear that a mania is building in the minds of the general public.  When these manias end they will leave investors looking the same way they always do...FUBAR.  If you're not familiar with the term, ask your military friends.

Famous philosophers back to Aristotle have extolled the virtues of walking to stimulate creativity, mental clarity, happiness, focus, and fresh perspective.  Turns out this ancient practice could benefit your investment portfolio as well.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum receive vast amounts of attention from the media, with most headlines touting the incredible price swings in these "investments".  As useful as these may eventually become as a means of exchange, they are not investments ; they are merely "speculations".  Retirees who don't understand the difference are putting their retirement portfolios in jeopardy.

Inflation in the US economy is real, and likely to get worse.  Those wishing to better understand what inflation is and how it affects retirees can reference my May 11 blog post.