Hello.
I'm Teigan Avery, Portfolio Manager of Pintler Wealth Management Group.
You know that feeling when markets drop and you think
maybe I should just get out until things settle down?
You're not alone.
But that instinct is exactly what hurts long term results.
Here's what most investors don't realize.
The best market days almost always happen right after the worst ones.
Historically, each downturn has been followed by an eventual upswing.
Although there's no guarantee that will always happen.
So when you sell during a downturn and wait for things to feel safe
again, you're probably missing the entire recovery.
You end up doing exactly what you're trying to avoid
selling low and buying back high.
Let's look at a simple example.
Take a hypothetical $10,000 investment
in the S&P 500 index over 20 years.
Investor A stays invested the whole time.
Their investment grows to $84,580.
Investor B misses just ten of the best market days.
This would bring their portfolio value down
to $37,628.
Same market, same time period.
The only difference is missing a handful of days.
Markets don't move in smooth lines.
They move in bursts.
And those bursts often happen when investors feel the most uncomfortable.
Trying to time the market requires two perfect decisions every time one
when to get out, two when to get back in.
Almost no one gets both right consistently.
Market timing is not an optimization strategy.
It's a behavioral risk.
Staying invested through volatility is an intentional strategy, not a passive one.
Every time you jump in and out, you're paying taxes on gains,
racking up transaction fees, sitting in cash that earns almost nothing.
The investors who reach their goals aren't the ones who predict highs and lows.
They're the ones who stay invested through the ups and downs.
Focus on the time you stay invested,
not the timing of your investments.
Time in the market beats timing the market every time.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your next steps,
please feel free to reach out to us at Pintler Wealth Management Group.