Investing During the Pandemic, with David B. Armstrong, CFA

Sean Spicer and co-host Lyndsay Keith welcomed Monument President and Co-Founder David B. Armstrong, CFA to their show Spicer & Co. on Tuesday, March 31st to talk about investing during the pandemic. Dave shared his perspective on how to navigate the current economic uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and protect yourself financially, while speaking to the following points, below.

#1: Determine if you’re an investor or a trader.

As you consume news, particularly statements made on financial news networks, it is important to determine whether you are an investor or a trader. A lot of the information right now that is being disseminated on financial media is geared toward people who are trying to trade stocks. Investors, on the other hand, have long-term plans and goals that guide their investing decisions. If you have goals and objectives that are long term in nature, it’s probably best to not do anything right now with a portfolio unless you need liquidity immediately.

• Read this Post: Here’s the real cost of timing the market

#2: Determine if and when you need liquidity.

If somebody does have an immediate, unforeseen and unplanned liquidity need–meaning they need cash to live off right now–the first thing to do is start looking at portfolios and determining what is the most efficient and effective way to raise that capital.

• Read this Post: This is more critical than anything you’ve done over the past 10 years
• Read this Post: Hope from China, truth about stimulus, and why cash is the ultimate hedge

#3: Consider Tax-Loss Harvesting.

The steep and sudden sell-off in the stock market due to this pandemic likely created some opportunities for tax loss harvesting. Tax loss harvesting is selling stocks that are trading at a loss in someone’s portfolio to take advantage of their tax treatment.

Read this post: Certainty during complex uncertainty

#4: Don’t try to buy the market bottom—invest in the future you.

While it is almost impossible to call a bottom, it is certainly not impossible to identify an opportunity. Rather than trying to assess whether or not we are at a bottom because of the pandemic, individual investors who have some liquidity that want to put some money to work should be looking at the long term and saying to themselves, “Am I trying to buy a bottom? Or am I trying to buy an opportunity because, in my world, a 20% down off the high is an opportunity.”

• Read this Post: It’s not about finding the bottom
• Read this Post: Why current sentiment can damage your plan

After being asked about the personal impact of the virus on Monument’s business operations, Armstrong closed by saying, “One of the interesting things about human beings is that we have evolved so well, because we have become adept at solving problems that are right in front of our face, right? We’re not so great at solving problems that are way down the road in advance. But when something is right in our face, we tend to adapt and solve problems very quickly. Whether that’s the coronavirus or work from home situations, it’s been really amazing to see how adaptable everybody in my firm has been.”

What’s Next?

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