The Native Iowan

Following my “perplexed” post I received comments from respected friends commenting per “Trump’s trashing of the share markets”.

It’s a worthy discussion. One I’ll look at herein, BUT…. BUUUTTTT… my “perplexed” post dealt specifically with the “hands off” protests. I was/ am perplexed per what was being “protested”. I have a friend who posted over 50 picts of signs and banners from the protest he attended on the West Coast. I dont think there is a single issue, subject, topic that was not covered. Nor was there a single explicative, swear word that wasn’t proudly brandished about.

Remembering that the protests, as I am told, were beautiful…

So, leaving the protests, I shall discuss the stock markets…

In 2016 the stock market(s) caught a chill…

What happened in 2016 finance? Several events impacted the world economy in 2016. World markets witnessed a crash after China’s steep fall in stock markets in January 2016. An increasingly interconnecting world makes countries vulnerable to events in others.26 Dec 2016

At that time I had a fair amount of my wealth invested in a “portfolio”. The market(s) started coughing in late 2015. By January 2016 I’d lost 5% of my portfolio. It took me a couple weeks to get my “brokers” to give me my money back. To de-invest. It was a mess. When you want to invest they love you. When you say “I’m done” they dont want to hear from you. Or talk to you.

Here’s an email from that time…

Nicole, Just checking in and adding a bit more info…
Balance at 23 October 2015 = 2137526.49, balance as of today = 2086339.94. Not pretty. Will feel better once I get this slide stopped.

Funny thing about this account… It took ages to get my $2mil original investment returned. My 2mil had grown up to 2.15mil but when liquidated I got less than 2.05mil. About a year later I received a credit of $50,000 from the fund management firm. They’d short changed me. The regulators eventually caught it and fined them. Forced them to pay me out.

So, The Trump trashing of the markets… Its not pretty: How many trillions has the stock market lost?The sell-off that began on Thursday has intensified, wiping trillions of dollars from global share prices, after US president Donald Trump announced new tariffs. Bloomberg have calculated that around $9.5tn (£7.39tn) has been wiped off global share prices since the US announced new trade levies.

Sounds terrible. And I dont want to down play anyone’s losses. Losses are indeed real… But, in 2015 when I started “losing” money, I knew I’d only invested $2mil in my portfolio. My value had increased over a number of years to around $2.15mil. I’d increased my wealth by about 7%. Then I lost about 5% of what I’d made. When I cashed my portfolio out I accepted a decrease of my “return on investment”. I was penalised, charged extra, raped, noting I never really ever lost anything. I got my $2mil back, but instead of a 7% ROI, I got maybe 3%. Maybe.

If I had left my investment alone, the increases between 2016 and 2025 would have seen me thinking I was clever, happy that I’d made such wise investments.

The long and the short: I didnt lose a dime. But I’d wasted time and wasn’t happy and decided there and then that I’d stay clear of the share market and invest my wealth, my future in tangibles, brick and mortar, LAND!

And I did.

I still do.

So, acknowledging that the crashing of the share market is terrible, huge, important… I am only indirectly affected. I’m not smart enough to play the share markets.

For those folks that are involved in the market(s)… The old rule of thumb is “ride hit out”. Most folks won’t lose anything from their principle. Stick it out, trends show us the markets will come back.

The other rule of thumb is “buy while prices are low”. If you are an investor, the market is running a fire sale.

Wishing every one all the best in these confusing times.

More later