Time Heals All Wounds

It has been said many times by many people that "Time Heals All Wounds". Marty Kooman recently illustrated this point as it applies to the markets and our economy. http://wearecentralpa.com/content/kooman/fulltext?cid=83041 Marty & I are on the same page. He believes, as I do that the markets will eventually rise again. In fact, he goes on to quote
John F. Kennedy, by stating, "We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch."

In fact, they have already been doing so. In case we had not noticed, the S & P has risen from a low of 677 on 3/9/09 to a current mark of 911. (That is over 34%!!) The average gain of the
S & P 500 for the 1 year following a bear market closing low for the 8 bear markets of the last 50 years is 36.5%.

As an advisor, this is why I always recommend for people to Stay Invested. Yet all too often, I hear of others who "buy high & sell LOW." As a matter of fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, 34% of Americans surveyed in April 2009 believe that a savings account is the best long term investment today. That is more than double those who prefer stocks (15%)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/1711/Stock-Market.aspx

Historically that has been good news for stock holders. Warren Buffett loves to say that the way to be successful in investing is to be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy. Mr. Buffett is quick to note that “our country has faced far worse travails in the past” with a dozen panics and recessions in the 20th century, “virulent inflation” in 1980 and, of course, the Great Depression in the 1930s. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/02/28/warren-buffett-on-the-economy/

“Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them,” he writes. “In the face of those obstacles – and many others – the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.”

Mr. Buffett has been a successful investor, not because of timing the market, but becuase of time itself. "Time Heals All Wounds" - Are you letting time work for you?

Ask yourself this also - How can you make your savings last for at least 25 years or more in retirment, and have income to keep up with rising costs?

For more information, please contact me at www.helpmy401k.us

Dean A. Voelker