The Tour de France is made up of 21 stages and covers 3,540 km this year. It is comprised of 9 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 5 mountain stages, 2 individual time-trials and 2 rest days.
Last Thursday was Stage 12 of the Tour de France. It is the first day in the Pyrenees Mountains. It was the beginning of the end for the sprinters that have dominated the race up to this point. Incremental gains become harder and harder to achieve as the riders labor up the mountain passes. The tortuous climbs are coupled with the harrowing descents where one wrong move can be life altering.
It strikes me that a chart of the market looks a bit like the profile of the tour; long flat areas punctuated by steep climbs with cliff like downhills; all strung together to test ones fortitude and ability to last.
Not unlike the tour, investing is a long game. One that is won not by sprinters who excel only in the flatlands, but those that can adapt to different terrain and a variety of different weather conditions.
Year To Date the S&P500 is up 9.34% while the Preferred Securities & Income ETF (FPE) is up a respectable 8.61% but with much less day to day volatility.
What stage of the tour are your investments in?
Are you in the flatlands, sprinting toward a perceived stage finish? Or are you laboring through the mountains and hanging on for dear life during market corrections?
If you self manage your IRA, you may want to talk to an Advisor about opportunities you may be missing or fees that you may be paying unnecessarily. We can help smooth out the ride so you can enjoy a yellow jersey at the finish of your Tour de Investments. For a no cost, no obligation review of your self-directed IRA holdings, please call the office to schedule a time to meet.
Sincerely,
Kirk Zickler
