As we commented last week, we continue to expect a lot of volatility in the market day to day. After two strong positive days in the market (writing this Tue after the close), just as we cautioned during big down days to not be despondent, we also are not euphoric over the action this week. This is a long-term process to rebuilding a stable base for the market. No one knows with certainty what the economy will look like when it restarts. We do know that the longer it is shut down the harder it will be to restart, but that must be balanced with health concerns due to the virus and also health concerns (often times mental health) of keeping all the social distancing policies in place for a longer time. There are no easy answers to this pandemic. If you are interested in taking an informal poll of how you will act when the “stay in place” recommendations are lifted, please visit our Altitude Financial Planning Facebook page or my LinkedIn page to express your own intended actions.
In the meantime, the market will continue to be supported by the humongous fiscal actions taken last week in Congress, with more to come, and by the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve. The Fed continues to discuss further policy measures as well. On a positive note, this will help the economy recover quicker in the short term than otherwise would be the case and will provide some very strong tailwinds, but we have to get the economy started first and see where we are. The credit markets have also started to function much better with better pricing and lower spreads in the last week, which is a critical first step.
Today we have included a link to a piece by Brinker Capital that discusses some of the risk of COVID-19 scams and steps to protect yourself.
I will close this newsletter by encouraging you to go to our redesigned website and give us your feedback. We will be highlighting parts of the website in future newsletters.
