These past few weeks have seen extreme stock market volatility, the WHO declaring a pandemic, and the U.S. implementing travel restrictions and many other measures (with more to come, assuredly) to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Amidst the politically-charged climate in which we live, we can lose sight of the progress mankind has made over time. We often remind our clients the U.S. stock market has handsomely paid patient, long-term investors over time. One simple method for gauging economic progress over time is to consider the evolution of the largest publicly-traded companies in the US. Of the ten largest companies in the US today, only four were founded prior to 1970 (JPMorgan Chase; Johnson & Johnson; Procter & Gamble; and Visa).

The bull market lives on. This bull market had near deaths in 2011 and 2018 – each time narrowly escaping the 20% decline threshold that defines a bear market (and thus ends the bull market).

One of the most important rules of investing is this: tuning in to media sources (be they financial or general) will not help you be a better investor. In fact, it will likely make you a poorer investor. Does it help you to know how much the Dow or the Nasdaq moves in a given day? If the Dow is down 200 points today, will that alter your investment strategy? Will it alter your mood?

As a part of The Wealth Group’s systematic investing process we have developed and refined, we update and review your portfolio and the internal holdings on a regular basis. This is an update based on that process, and there is no action required on your end.

Stock market drawdowns are normal. They’re never fun, but they are a routine occurrence. As of market close on October 11, 2018, the S&P 500 Index was only 6.9% off its recent high from September 20.