Remember that averages are meaningless in planning your future.  Are you going to live the average life span?  Is your retirement account average – $143,000?  Do you expect to receive the average social Security check – $1077.00?

Remember also that most of what the pundits,financial planners and investment advisors call “investments” are actually speculations.

Benjamin Graham, the Dean of Wall Street and Warren Buffets’ mentor put it this way, “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.”   Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor” 4th ed., 2003, Chapter 1, page 18. (emphasis is mine)

Benjamin Graham doesn’t suggest that you risk your principal for the possible but improbable big swing upward.  Do not jump back into the market.  You may miss an upswing and you may miss the upcoming downturn as well.  If you are in the lifeboat and the ship doesn’t sink, you can climb back on board.  If you are in the lifeboat and the ship is the Titanic, you’ll be happy as hell that you got off and stayed off.

Here’s a sobering reminder of what’s happened to the average investor and the averages over the past 20 years.

http://www.ifa.com/quoteoftheweek/pdf/QoW_55.pdf

by Jeffrey Reeves youBEthebank,com, ltd

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