Page 26 - March 2022 Issue.indd

Financial Advisors Can Help such as the S&P 500. Corrections are
not at all unusual – in fact, it’s more
Reduce Anxiety unusual to go through a year without

a correction. But the average market
Submitted by Ann Jacobs, Financial Advisor,
correction is short-lived, typically last-
Edward Jones - Denton 410-479-0271
ing just a few months. And a market
correction, when prices are down,
predictions of this nature – and if may actually present an opportunity
If you’re an investor, it’s always useful
our experience with the COVID-19 to purchase quality investments to add
to look back – and look ahead. How to your portfolio or to help diversify
did you do in 2021? And what can you pandemic has taught us anything, it’s it further.
anticipate in 2022? to be humble about projecting the
future. Nonetheless, we can look at
First, let’s quickly review what some possibilities. Other developments may also suggest
a relatively favorable investment envi-
happened in 2021. Despite the ongo-
First of all, don’t be surprised to see ronment this year. For one thing, infl a-
ing pandemic, domestic political some market volatility. In 2021, we tion may well subside somewhat in the
unrest, supply chain logjams and second half of the year, as we should
the return of inflation, the fi nancial saw real gross domestic product

(GDP) growth of nearly 6%, largely see a clearing of some supply chain
markets turned in some strong results: bottlenecks. Plus, household savings
The S&P 500 gained almost 27% for fueled by two factors: an increase in are strong, as is consumer spending,

the year, the Dow Jones Industrial consumer spending as the economy
reopened following an easing of the while wage growth is above average.
Average returned nearly 19% and the Taken together, these factors may help
Nasdaq Composite gained more than pandemic, and the Federal Reserve’s
continued monetary stimulus. But boost the economy in the latter part
21%. And while your own returns may in 2022, the combination of higher of 2022. Furthermore, even if the Fed

not have matched these figures – since bumps up interest rates, they’ll still be

you probably own a mix of invest- inflation (at least during the fi rst half
of the year), higher interest rates (the relatively low by historical standards
ments, some of which are not tracked and shouldn’t overly hinder businesses
by these indexes – you still probably Fed has indicated it may raise rates who need to borrow to expand their
did pretty well. more than once) and the continued
uncertainty around COVID-19 may operations.
But now that we’ve turned the calen- result in a “correction,” which is gener- In any single year, pandemic or not,

dar to 2022, what can you expect from ally defined as a drop of 10% or more external events will affect the fi nan-

the investment world? Of course, from a recent peak in the financial cial markets. And while you shouldn’t
it’s always somewhat risky to make markets, as measured by a major index
ignore these events, you also don’t
want to let them dictate all, or even

most, of your financial moves. You’re
much better off focusing on things
you can control – and the best way
to do that is to stick with an invest-
ment strategy based on your goals, risk
tolerance and time horizon. By doing
so, you’ll give yourself the best chance
of success in 2022 – and beyond.
This article was written by Edward
Jones for use by your local Edward
Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones.
Member SIPC.

Ann M Jacobs
Financial Advisor
105 Franklin St
Denton, MD 21629-1207
410-479-0271

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