The Prudent Retiree - August 2019
“By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong.”
- “Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell
August marks the fiftieth anniversary of Woodstock – Three Days of Peace and Music. Woodstock was arguably one of the most significant music and cultural events in our nation’s history. No one knew it would explode onto the national scene. Many dismissed it as just a bunch of dirty, wet, pot smoking hippies. No cell phones, no videos, no television. Only a camera crew for the movie. I wasn’t there, I was only fifteen. I did see the movie, though, when it came out a year later. Wow, great music unlike anything we’d seen. It set the tone for a generation.
Woodstock came at the end of the tumultuous 1960s. It was a decade of social unrest, riots, the Vietnam War, ugly politics, student protest, urban violence, racial tension, demand for civil rights and equal status for women, assassinations, conflict with the Russians and a battle between generations. Woodstock was supposed to be the antithesis—a hope for peace and love. It didn’t quite work out that way.
Fifty years later, has much changed? This remembrance of Woodstock is to give perspective about the market. Tragedy and turmoil are always with us. Wars and rumors of war. The market goes up and down, but marches onward. 1969 was a great year for music, but not for stocks. The Dow Jones started the year at 948 and ended the year at 809. Yes, the value was in the hundreds. Today, the Dow Jones is more than 25,000. Perspective. We all know what we’ve lived though these past fifty years. Remember that no single event, individual or political party can permanently wreck the market. Perspective.
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performed at Woodstock. One of their songs is called “Déjà vu”—We have all been here before. That is how Prudent Retiree feels about this report on the market. It’s been down the past month and extreme volatility continues. We’ve been saying for the past nine months that overall things are okay, but our major concern is trade and tariffs. We’ll repeat the same message—it’s mutually beneficial for China and the U.S. to reach an accord. We don’t, however, discount the possibility of a full-scale trade war because of the temperament of the parties involved. Inflation and interest rates remain low. We are concerned, though, and will continue to monitor the markets. The economy is solid. We believe it’s best to stand pat for the moment.
Joni Mitchell wrote in the song “Woodstock”: “We are stardust, we are golden.” Hippie talk to be sure, but we’ll be working to keep portfolios golden.
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