theview
November 2018
.com
Page 7
business
Motorcycling 28 Times More Deadly
FINANCIAL FOCUS
What Should Investors Know About
Recent Volatility?
By Bret Massey, Edward Jones Financial Advisor, Special to THE VIEW 38002
As
you
may have
heard, the
stock
market has
been on a
wild ride
lately.
What’s
behind
this
volatility? And, as an
investor, how concerned
should you be?
Let’s look at the first
question first.
What
caused the steep drop in
stock
prices
we
experienced on a few
separate days?
Essentially, two main
factors seem to be
responsible. First, some
good economic news may
actually have played a
significant role. A 17-year
low in unemployment and
solid job growth have
begun to push wages
upward.
These
developments have led to
fears of rising inflation,
which, in turn, led to
speculation
that
the
Federal Reserve will
tighten the money supply
at a faster-than-expected
rate.
Stocks
reacted
negatively
to
these
expectations of higher
interest rates.
The second cause of
the market volatility
appears to be simply a
reaction to the long bull
market. While rising stock
prices lead many people
to continue buying more
and more shares, some
people actually need to
sell their stocks – and this
pent-up selling demand,
combined with short-term
profit-taking,
helped
contribute to the large sell
-offs of recent days.
Now, as for the
question
of
how
concerned you should be
about this volatility,
consider these points:
• Sell-offs are nothing
unusual. We’ve often
experienced big sell-offs,
but they’ve generally been
followed with strong
recoveries. Of course, past
performance is not a
guarantee of future results,
but history has shown that
patient,
persistent
investors have often been
rewarded.
• Fundamentals are
strong. While short-term
market movements can be
caused by a variety of
factors,
economic
conditions and corporate
earnings typically drive
performance in the long
term. Right now, the U.S.
economy is near full
employment, consumer
and business sentiment
has
risen
strongly,
manufacturing and service
activity is at multi-year
highs, and GDP growth in
2018 appears to be on
track for the best
performance since 2015.
Furthermore,
corporate
earnings are expected to
rise this year.
So,
given
this
background, what’s your
next move? Here are
some suggestions:
•
Review
your
situation. You may want
to work with a financial
professional to evaluate
your
portfolio
to
determine if it is helping
you make the progress
you need to eventually
achieve your long-term
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• Reassess your risk
tolerance. If you were
unusually upset over the
loss in value of your
investments during the
market pullback, you may
need to review your risk
tolerance to determine if
it’s still appropriate for
your investment mix. If
you feel you are taking on
too much risk, you may
need to rebalance your
portfolio. Keep in mind,
though, that by “playing it
safe”
and
investing
heavily in vehicles that
offer greater protection of
principal, but little in the
way of return, you run the
risk of not attaining the
growth you need to reach
your objectives.
•
Look
for
opportunities. A market
pullback such as the one
we’ve experienced, which
occurs during a period of
economic expansion and
rising corporate profits,
can
give
long-term
investors a chance to add
new shares at attractive
prices in an environment
that may be conducive to
a market rally.
A
sharp
market
pullback, such as we’ve
seen recently, will always
be big news. But if you
look
beyond
the
headlines,
you
can
sometimes see a different
picture – and one that may
be brighter than you had
realized.
By David B. Peel, Special to THE VIEW 38002
Per
mile
traveled,
motorcy-
clist fatali-
ties
oc-
curred
nearly 28
times more frequently than
passenger vehicle occupant
fatalities in traffic crashes
(NCSA 2018).
Motorcycle riders and
their passengers—have the
highest risk of fatal injury
among all motor vehicle
users. In 2016, 5,286 mo-
torcyclists died in traffic
crashes in the US.
The most common
cause of motorcycle acci-
dents is not the occasional
fellow kicking up a wheel-
ie on the interstate. The
most common serious acci-
dent that involves a motor-
cyclist will almost always
involve a car whose driver
did not see the motorcycle.
We often handle involv-
ing motorcycles is a failure
to yield. In most cases, the
motorcyclist has the right-
of-way when a car pulls
out across the path without
seeing or yielding to rider.
Unfortunately, due to
physics, the motorcyclist
usually pays the price for
the negligence of the driver
of the errant car.
Traumatic brain injuries
are common, even with
helmets. Lower leg injuries
are also rampant in these
collisions.
Anything riders can do
to increase their visibility
to traffic that may not see
them easily is an improve-
ment. Some riders will
continuously cycle their
headlights from high beam
to low beam and back
when approaching poten-
tially turning vehicles.
For drivers of vehicles,
remember to look left, then
right, then left again. And
don’t allow yourself to
simply look for a full-size
vehicle, because all you
may be able to see is a
single fast-moving point of
light.
When cars and trucks