Food For Thought

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Happy Thursday,

Wow! What a week… With financial headlines blaring everywhere and stock trading screens bathed in red more often than green, it is normal to be jittery. There’s no saying how long the market will swing in response to the Fed’s rate hiking campaign and the many other elements driving the volatility.

When the going gets tough, we often go to the experts, but — to be honest — there isn’t a lot of consensus on where prices are headed, whether the bottom is near, or when inflation will peak. Some are saying that the market is undervalued and suggesting that younger investors “think of this as everything is on sale.” Others say that the Fed’s action came too late and that inflation will continue to push stock prices lower. Making predictions more hazy are the multiple elements at play — from inflation data to gas prices to interest rate hikes to war. As Robert Dent, senior US economist for Nomura Securities, said in a recent interview: “This is a very big change, and the markets are having trouble processing it.”

We hope the well-documented historic benefits of a long-term focus helps you keep a steady hand both when markets go up… and when they come down. While the volatility and ups and (mostly) downs of the stock market are driving the headlines, don’t forget that the basics of investing do not fly out the window during hectic times. Last week we shed some light on what to consider if you think a recession is coming and want you to remember that FWIW has the resources you need as you set your course as an investor.

Some that we’ve found particularly relevant (and grounding) over the past week:

• How to Research ESG Stocks and Funds
• Investing in Women: Gender Lens Guide
• How to Practice Faith-Based Investing
• Unpacking the ESG Alphabet Soup
• Defining Bear Markets and “Corrections”

And for when terms and acronyms pop up that make your eyes glaze over: our ever-growing glossary of common terms.

News you can use

• The market selloff over the past week has been widespread, with few companies or sectors untouched. The S&P 500 dropped below 4,000 for the first time since March 2021 and all broader market indicators were red most of the week, with CNBC reporting that all but 3 of the 53 tech-related companies that went public in 2021 are trading at or below their opening price.
• May is mental health awareness month, and Google says that more Americans are looking for mental health resources than ever before. In the wake of Covid, companies like Teladoc and Betterhelp are making help accessible via the internet, and funding and acquisitions of startups in this space jumped last year. But privacy is a major concern and authorities are investigating how these platforms prescribe controlled substances.