Calm and perspective – two things we could all use some more of these days

Recently, after a wild day in the markets, I decided to pull up two pictures, just to add some perspective

Return of the S&P 500 from January 1, 2022 to May 11, 2022

Return of the S&P 500 from January 1, 1995 to May 11, 2022

Why these two timeframes? The first – the challenging start to 2022 (which is the freshest in everyone’s minds – including my own). The second – the return over the course of my investing life, which began when I was 16 years old in 1995 and first had earned income to fund a custodial Roth IRA. Does this year look unfavorable? Yes. Does that picture change drastically if I zoom out? Also yes.

Perspective is everything. If you are worried about the current narrative or struggling to deal with the ups and downs, perhaps you can draw your own graphs. Breathe in – and Zoom out. This too shall pass

Note: Above commentary as of publish date shown for blog post. All comments herein represent the opinions of Windermere and its principals. It is for educational and information purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice