The Weekly Update 9/1/2023

This week’s edition of “The Weekly Update” is being written by Brittany Jarocki, CFP®.  Brittany is the succession plan I hope I never need (I intend to die at my desk at age 123), my business partner and my daughter.  Enjoy!

Happy September to all!

This month I found an extremely interesting occurrence within the AAII Sentiment Survey and the Fear & Greed Index.

The AAII Sentiment Survey shows where the average investor thinks the market will be in the next 6 months. The Fear & Greed Index is just as it sounds – a survey of whether the average investor is feeling Greedy/Bullish, or Fearful/Bearish.

Keep in mind that when the Fear & Greed Index shows more Greed than Fear is when we at The Wealth Strategies Group start to capture profits in client accounts and when it shows more Fear than Greed is when we begin to put cash to work in investments. This is because the average investor/general public is often too late to the game, so as investors we go with the contrarian view. As the old saying goes, “If you hear the cab driver talking about investing in it, it’s too late”.

The interesting occurrence, which I have never seen in all my years of tracking these indices, is that both the AAII Sentiment Survey AND the Fear & Greed Index show almost perfectly neutral expectations. As in, the average investor doesn’t know what to think!

As of 8/29/23 (the date I am writing this) the Fear & Greed index sits at exactly “Neutral” and the AAII Sentiment Survey is almost exactly split into thirds between Bullish, Neutral, and Bearish.

Talk about being stuck in the mud!

The average investor remains uncertain of what to expect of the markets 6 months in the future and therefore have chosen to “do nothing”.

The reality is that we are working with 5 Year Money for our clients and the biggest impacts will be in the long term versus the short term.

The good news is that here at The Wealth Strategies Group we have a plan for our clients  - creating well-rounded portfolios for each person and taking action as needed in any direction.

I’m interested in your thoughts, comments, and observations.  Feel welcome to call, email, or stop by the office and say Hi.

Respectfully,

Brittany Jarocki, CFP®

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional  

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.