Thoughts on Christmas Eve

Today I feel somewhat calm.  Most of the presents are wrapped.  The shopping is done.  I have attempted to make mince pies and once again admitted defeat to the pastry gods.  I sat down to check the stock markets – it’s a flat day and the S&P 500 sits a whisker off it’s all time high.

Now rewind back to this time last year.  I definitely hadn’t done the wrapping (I was up past midnight getting it done) and the stock market was in free fall.  It had fallen 20% since September 20th and although we didn’t know it at the time, Christmas Eve was the bottom.  The S&P 500 closed at 2,351 on Christmas Eve 2018.  As I write a year later, half-way through Christmas Eve 2019, the S&P 500 stands at 3,223, an increase of 37%.

Whilst there are lots of bells ringing at Christmas, the one that signalled the bottom of the market didn’t ring on 24th December 2018.  It never rings at the time, only in hindsight.

That’s my only thought on the market today.

Another thought is that my family seems a long way away today.  I always feel torn at Christmas – Christmas in Cayman is very special, we love being in our own home, we have created our own traditions as a family of five – but, I always have a lingering sense of regret as we approach the big day that we haven’t hopped on a plane and made the trip across the pond.

Finally, we have a week left of this decade.  Take some time to reflect on the last decade and as we enter the next, here’s a question to ask yourself (thank you to James Clear for this question):

What is the most neglected important area in my life right now?

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas. I will be back with more thoughts, insights and musings at the start of 2020.

Georgie

georgie@libertywealth.ky