Eyeworld

July 2016 • Ophthalmology Business 21 in which you can make a lot of mon- ey). But the media has no obligation to look out for YOUR best interests … or even tell you the truth, for that matter. The media's goal is to sell ads. So how do you think the media is going to position a story or describe the market? They'll naturally twist a story to get a different, oftentimes sensationalized, perspective. So be skeptical about what you read and watch. Personally, I use and study the charts because there is no "opinion" built into the charts. They only show price changes, and from those price changes, you can generally deter- mine trends. And—unlike other types of charts—point and figure charts are not subject to interpretation. The data is what it is. Charts either trend up, trend down, or stay in place. No opinion. Just the facts. OB a decade since we experienced a time-out. Right now, a lot of factors are casting a shadow over the market with no clear consensus. Here's an example: For the num- ber of folks who are concerned about disinflation, an equal amount will point out that inflation has almost doubled in the past 12 months, from 0.7% to 1.3%. Could this be why the market is in time-out? Truthfully, I don't know. For the number of folks who are concerned that the Federal Reserve is way behind the curve and needs to immediately raise interest rates, there's an equal number suggesting that the Federal Reserve follow Japan to negative rates. Could this be why the market is in time-out? Truthfully, I don't know. Politically, the nation is about to slip into a Trump or Clinton ad- ministration. Could this be why the market is in time-out? Truthfully ... As an investment advisor (and an investor myself) it's important not to get caught up in the news (or the noise) of the day. Each and every day you can open the newspaper or turn on the television and take in very different views on why the market is behaving as it is. Just remember: The job of the media is to sell. They sell advertising (which is not a bad profession and 1 shoots and ladders O ne of the most frequent questions I'm asked in the course of my busi- ness is, "Why does the market behave the way it does?" There is an old saying on Wall Street that the market climbs up the stairs but comes down on the elevator. That's really a true picture. I have found in more than 28 years as an investment advisor that the market, in its same old boorish way, slowly and steadily grinds up until … BAM! Five percent down in a couple of days or 10 percent down in a week. It happens. Maybe you've experienced this phenomenon your- self if you follow the markets on a regular basis. The market tends to move up like it is climbing a staircase. Up a little, down a tick, up a little more, down a tick. But when it wants to really come down, it takes the ex- press elevator to the ground floor. Let's take a quick look at the elevator side of this story. There are times when the mar- ket has a quick pullback, say 5% to 10%. These times in retrospect have turned out to be great buying oppor- tunities (remember the 1990s?). Other times we've had swift pullbacks in the market, which sig- nifies a growth-to-recession mode. In the past few years, we haven't had any growth in the economy, so can we really have a recession? It doesn't make any sense. Some of these times we simply see a period where the market seems to be very choppy and trendless. I refer to these periods as a "time- out." The "time-out" period is where we stand now. It's been more than Mr. Balser is the man- aging partner and chief investment officer of Balser Wealth Manage- ment in Avon, Ohio. He works with individuals to reduce risk in their investment and retirement portfolios to ensure they will not run out of income in retirement. He can be contacted at roger@ balserwealth.com. It's important not to get caught up in the news (or the noise) of the day. Each and every day you can open the newspaper or turn on the television and take in very different views on why the market is behaving as it is.

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