Personal Responsibility

It has become quite apparent the we, as market participants, are in for very volatile times.  This may play out over weeks, over months, or perhaps even for years to come.

I am both agnostic and concerned about this current volatility and potential future outcomes.  There are many factors at play here - the most significant of which I believe are the constant withdrawal of commitments and liquidity by previously large participants.  I am specifically talking about professional market makers, banks and brokerages.  This applies equally to both debt and equity markets.

Insofar as this blog is addressed primarily to individuals; there seems to me only one evolving answer to this question.  That answer is personal commitment and involvement in the overall plan of their own investments.

By that I mean, "What are one's BASIC concerns - preservation of capital?  Income?  Growth?"  A person will need to be firm in their own commitment to their specific goals to withstand the winds of increasing volatility.  Questions that need to be answered are:  what specific percentage of investment funds should be committed toward preservation of capital and others. The answer to this question will need further attention and review, and definition of what this goal continually means.

In my view, every individual investor seeking to participate in public markets of our volatile and rapidly changing world needs to accomplish this critical task.