To view this blog as a video go here. Q3 saw the returns on stocks – and bonds, too – down for the quarter. View the quarterly report here. While we had a strong July for stocks, September gave back those gains and then some. It happens. Very seldom do we see slow and steady growth to stocks. It’d be great to see, but it’s just not a reality. Stocks are like rollercoasters: sharp ups and downs, quick turns, and the occasional loop the loop. If you invest in stocks, it’s imperative that you have a long-term outlook. And a long-term outlook is several years and into decades. So, let’s look at an overview of Q3. A bunch of red arrows on page 3 from the linked report above, but then we look longer over several years – 5 and 10 on page 4 – and we see all green arrows. And that’s the point…a diversified stock portfolio will build wealth over time, but it needs time to ride it out so it can correct those down markets. The best thing you can do as an investor is to stay invested, continue making your 401(k) and IRA contributions, rebalance when your portfolio when it gets out of line so that you can take advantage of opportunities, and keep your investing costs low, too. This is how we build wealth for the long-term. Investing in a diversified stock portfolio is really believing in its long-term growth potential, while understanding the volatile short-term movements don’t have any impact on us as long as we don’t let it impact us. Understand it’s a rollercoaster ride and the payoff comes at the end. If you have any uncertainties about investing and you need some guidance to get you through it, reach out to us.