Halftime 2020

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Unless you’re an avid TCU Horned Frog Football fan, like me, you may not know the name Bram Kohlhausen. He was the quarterback that made his first and only college start at the 2016 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. To say the first half of that game was a little rocky is an understatement. TCU came out looking like a team without their star quarterback. Their first half was a disaster. There were penalties and a turnover, while their opponents, the Oregon Ducks, sailed smoothly through the first two quarters. The Frogs walked dejectedly into the locker room down 31- 0 at the half. Many TCU and Oregon faithfuls even headed for the River Walk looking for something a little more entertaining.

The first half of 2020 feels an awful lot like the first half of the 2016 Alamo Bowl. January opened with all of the drama that a presidential election year brings. We had an impeachment trial that occupied the news cycles for weeks and weeks. Then things shifted when the COVID-19 virus turned into a global pandemic. The world-wide shutdown that was implemented to slow the pandemic led to one of the most severe market downturns that we’ve ever seen. The shutdown caused record unemployment and unprecedented government intervention in the market. We also had to endure over a month of shelter-in-place orders that kept people in their homes and introduced new terms like “social distancing” and “flattening the curve.”

As if that was not enough bad news for the year, the heartbreaking murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis was a spark that ignited protests and civil unrest around the country. And tensions and conflict have continued to boil. Oh, and let's not forget about the murder hornets.

But back to the game - the Frogs went into halftime feeling beat up, a little defeated, and unsure about the second half. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever been in a football locker room at halftime, you know that it can be a bit chaotic. Players and coaches use the time to regroup. They review the game plan and assess what did and did not go well. They recalibrate for unforeseen circumstances and adjust the strategy for the second half.

The analogy of halftime in sports is an excellent way to view our financial and investment plans as we enter the halfway point of 2020. We need to dust off our financial plans and make sure that our goals and objectives haven’t changed. It would be best to look at some of the basic, and often overlooked, items of your budget and make sure that your emergency savings are in place. Do you have your Will and Power of Attorney documents in order? Have you considered how this global pandemic could affect your family's financial future? With the COVID-19 virus, we need to address the reality that you or a loved one could become ill and need medical attention or worse.

Take time to review your investment plan. With the market rebound off the lows of March, we can examine how our portfolios performed. And now is the time to ask some questions. Do I need to make any adjustments to what I own in my portfolio? Does this portfolio align with my financial plan and goals?

With the backdrop of the social unrest in our country, have you taken the time to more deeply understand what the companies you own through your investment accounts stand for? As an owner in those companies, does it matter to you? It’s often startling to find that the companies we are invested in may not align with our personal values. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Consider this challenge - let’s call it our Halftime Agenda.

Halftime Agenda

1.      Review your Financial & Investment plan

2.      Make sure the basics foundations are in place

3.      Make the necessary adjustments

4.      Implement your plan

The Frogs went into halftime and worked through this simple process. While it was not about the team's financial plan, it was about their game plan. They went back and reviewed the plan that they had at the start of the game. The coaching staff made sure that the basic building blocks were in place. They adjusted their plan based on the information that they had from the first half. Then they went out and implemented the new plan.

The Frogs not only implemented their revised plan but were able to make an extraordinary comeback. They were 31 points down but fought hard to tie the game and go into overtime. With a batted down ball on 4th down in the third overtime, the Frogs won the victory. Bram Kohlhausen became an instant TCU sports legend and pulled off the biggest comeback in bowl history. It was such an incredible story that Disney had interest in turning the story into a movie.

While I have no way to guarantee that the second half of 2020 and beyond will turn out like the second half of the Alamo Bowl, I do know that we need to take this opportunity to assess our plans - to make sure the basic foundations are in place, make the necessary adjustments, and implement those adjustments for the second half of 2020.

I leave you, as always, with this question - What's in your portfolio?

*The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

*There is no assurance that the techniques and strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.

Sean Weaver