This past Sunday I was watching my beloved Green Bay Packers playing the winless Cleveland Browns in Cleveland. Based on the scenes of the crowd there were a number of Packer fans in attendance.
During most the game the Packers were trailing. In fact, they entered the fourth quarter trailing 21 to 7. It did not look good. But then the Packers scored 20 unanswered points and won in overtime. Keeping the Browns winless.
As I was watching the game I was following the comments on Twitter. There were many fans looking for answers, questioning nearly every play called. Asking for ‘heads to roll’. “Why aren’t throwing the ball longer’ or “why is Hundley still the quarterback?” or “this game is over” “Thompson, McCarthy, Capers all need to be fired.” The list of complaints was endless.
Admittedly I had my doubts. Our slim chance of getting in the playoffs would disappear.
In the fourth quarter comeback Twitter was nearly silent. There remained a large number of doubters. When the game ended. I read some comments like “I never really gave up” or “I always had faith”. WOW!
At the end I realized that the Packer coaching staff had a plan. They adjusted their plan slightly and went on to the win. They had a process and the discipline to follow it. Regardless of the criticisms the Packer organization had a philosophy and followed it.
Keep in mind you will not always be successful short-term. But you will succeed long-term.
Investors should learn from this. Investors need an investment philosophy they believe in. Then they need the discipline to follow it. In most, if not all cases, this will require the assistance of an investor coach/fiduciary adviser.
Investors need to ignore the financial media and the short-term noise of the market and stick to their plan. At times it will be very uncomfortable and scary. The media will try to scare you to move your money. After all Wall Street makes money when you trade in and out.
To be successful in investing you need to own equities and the right amount of high quality short-term fixed income, globally diversify and rebalance.
As I said, this requires the aid of an investor coach/fiduciary adviser.
