As if we didn’t have enough on our plates already … here’s a list of OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
Cyber Security – We are all learning to do more things remotely. We are trying to stay connected to family, friends, colleagues, and clients using technology. We are buying even ordinary things like groceries online to try to protect ourselves from being exposed to COVID-19. But did you know that there is a new victim of identity theft every two seconds? Or that it takes most victims of identity theft three months to find out what's happening, with some victims not finding out for years?
At Baird, we feel a person’s identity theft protection is an essential part of their overall financial plan, which is why we partnered with InfoArmor to offer their exceptional product specifically designed for Baird clients at a discounted rate. If you would like to receive instructions on how to take advantage of this offering, please contact us.
Mental Health – Although working from home and practicing social distancing, or even complying with “shelter-in-place” orders, all have the potential impact to slow the spread of COVID-19, they can also have a negative impact on our mental health as we may deal with depression, separation anxiety, addictions, etc. It is important to:
- Maintain meal, exercise and bedtime routines
- Connect with others safely using technology
- Stay informed, but avoid too much news (more on this below)
- Share your concerns with friends and family.
- If you need it, seek help—many employers offer anonymous counseling (even in good times). There are online help groups, prevention hotlines, emergency services, and kind citizens looking to offer support.
This short video has some really good advice for us all:
An Astronaut gives us advice on being alone (14 min video)
A dear friend and my (Lana) mental toughness coach made the following video to discuss 5 points that are hugely relevant to the times: Aloneness, Creativity, Connectedness, Service, and Enthusiasm:
Christopher Dorris Mental Toughness
News Sources – We have been reminded to be mindful of the sources of our information. We participated in a call this week with one of our portfolio managers, titled “separating news from noise.” The key points for us were:
- Keep in mind the “audience” of the news sources you are following.
- Regardless of political slant, avoid extremism on all sides.
- Diversify your information sources in the same way as you would your portfolio.
- Look through the “noise” to what some of the facts really mean and discuss it with your trusted advisors who know how to best help leverage the information.
- We intend to continue to partner with transparent, active managers who, for us, instill more confidence when we at least know WHAT is taking place in the portfolios.
For those interested, we are organizing a call with a few of the investment experts we work with. Reply to this email if you want to participate, so we can get a good sense of the capacity we need for the call.
Humor – you may have heard Lana say “If it’s not fun, why do it?” This is a direct quote from the marketing materials of the famous Tom & Jerry – of ice cream fame, not cartoons! A few of the more humorous things we’ve seen (our opinion) over the past week:
- How much toilet paper do you need? Here’s a calculator (Can you believe it’s come to this)
- Best Dog leaf jumps ever! (3 min video)
- People are awesome v FailArmy! (3 min video)
Also highly contagious is kindness, patience, love, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude! It’s worth repeating that we DON’T KNOW how long this will last or how bad it might get. We DO KNOW how to help you look at your own plan to give you some idea of how this volatility impacts you personally.
Even if you are not currently a client, we are happy to review your financial retirement plan, your lifetime income plan, or look at your investment plan risk. If you don’t have one or have no idea what we might mean, let’s schedule some time for a quick call or video conference (remember our Phoenix office is remote-access at this time).
REMEMBER, this is a constantly evolving crisis, changing daily, but we believe this too shall pass. We are doing our best to stay informed, stay healthy, and be available to you to talk about anything. We still believe fundamentally that the best thing we can do right now is stay positive and wait it out. We discourage anyone from trying to “get out” at/near the bottom, and then miss the front side of the inevitable rebound.
Let us know what we can do to help.