Worried, stunned and fearful as we all are by the way our world has suddenly and dramatically changed , the first thing we have to all remember, including this writer, is that treatments will emerge, a vaccine will be discovered and life will resume.
Saddened by the incredible manner in which this pandemic has diminished and taken lives and impacted economies and livelihoods around the globe, we should however be encouraged by the acts of kindness, generosity, ingenuity and determination that have emerged in our neighbourhoods, towns and cities.
I have no doubt that these positive adaptations will lead us all in our family, corporate and community lives to rebuild a better world. Our methods of communication, places of work, commutes, socializing and businesses are being forced by necessity to change and generally with surprisingly upside consequences. It may be that when we come out of this our world will be smaller, but our lives may be even more meaningful.
We are coming to realize that as Canadians we enjoy an incredible standard of living and that perhaps we will stop a moment longer in future to not only celebrate our good fortune but also to work towards improving it for others.
This is not to dilute the real financial challenges being faced by business owners and their employees; but the good news is that this is a health crisis that has developed into an economic crisis and in time given the liquidity measures undertaken by central banks and governments around the world, unlike in the Great Depression, we will get through it all.
Being in the risk mitigation business as we reach out to our clients to listen and to help in any possible way we can, we hear chords of FOMO (fear of missing out). Missing out on such things corporately as production, marketing and supply opportunities and personally on knowing for example, when financial markets will reach bottom.
Reference just this last concern, David Rosenberg, founder of Rosenberg Research and Associates Inc. wrote May 1st in the Globe and Mail: “ Nobody picks the bottom. If you miss the entire first year of a bull market while ensuring you avoid all of the bear market, a study going back to the 1950’s indicates that your portfolio is up at a 14% annual rate. If you were good enough to pick the bottom – you would be up 17%; but what a small price to pay – 3 points – to avoid the pain of a long decline and the worry of missing out”.
As business valuations, investment and insurance portfolios are cornerstone assets of every estate plan, many clients are reviewing their risk protection portfolio to ensure that any temporary shortfalls are addressed.
We hope that you can join us for our next Etherington Generations virtual Speakers Series on May 14th featuring Mr. Sadiq Adatia, Chief Investment Officer of Sun Life Global Investments who will share his views of global markets and answer questions you might have in a question and answer session.
Together we will get to the other side.