Prospective Hindsight
The next twelve months may be an especially interesting time. There is hope, but there is still much unknown. Let’s mind travel to December 2021. Next year at this time, we may look back and say, “Of course, how did I miss that”? This activity of jumping forward to look back is known as prospective hindsight.
The 1999 Tech Bubble
This was a time when profits didn’t matter. We didn’t wonder whether a technology stock would go higher, we wondered how quickly it would double in price. There was little perceived risk in the market. Then came the great bubble burst. Looking back, it was obvious. How could profits not matter? “Growth at any price” was a short-term phenomenon. But it was near impossible to see that at the time.
The Financial Crisis
The financial crisis was another situation that is now obvious. The amount of leverage assumed nothing would go wrong. There were tranches of mortgage debt rated AAA by trusted agencies. What was there to worry about? Sure, the debt was enormous, but all looked good. Until it didn’t.
Our Current Situation
With vaccines on the horizon there is a lot of hope, but also a lot of questions. How long will it take to get back to normal? What additional stimulus will be provided? How much more economic damage will occur before we get out of this? The bulls refer to the high levels of saving and pent-up demand. The bears point to the amount of debt and uncertainty over vaccine distribution. We don’t know how this will unfold. We could grow out of this fairly quickly or we could face significant setbacks.
How Will We Miss It?
At some point in the future, we will look back and wonder how we missed something so obvious. If only we knew that now! This is why the best course of action is to ignore the predictions and follow your plan. There may be confident forecasts, but don’t kid yourself – no one really knows. Not even the “experts.”
There are cases, reasons, evidence, and justifications for various potential outcomes. The present day will all make sense at some time in the future. We will wonder how we missed it.
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By Anthony C. Williams, CWS, ChFC, MRFC, CLU | Investment Advisor Representative | President & Founding Partner of Mosaic Financial Associates & Orthopaedist Advisory Group | Securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisors LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, a broker/dealer and a Registered Investment Advisor. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.
©2022 The Behavioral Finance Network. Used with permission.
