As you read this, the S&P 500 Index just closed at another new all-time high.

Do you have a fear of heights? As in “I may want to hold off on adding to my investments because, after all, what goes up must come down….right?

While this caution feels logical, history tells a different story.

Bernard Baruch famously said, “Buy fur costs in the summer and bathing suits in the winter.” Or put another way, try to be counterintuitive when you acquire something. Go against the crowd. Don’t chase after the same thing everyone else is.

That approach certainly makes sense when evaluating a commodity purchase, or a consumer good that has cyclical availability.

But it doesn’t work when you’re poised to make an investment in a diversified portfolio of enduringly successful businesses for the long term.

Why is that?

• Markets Trend Upward Over Time– despite short-term volatility, the long-term trajectory of markets has always been upward

• Consistent Investing Beats Timing the Market– success in investing is driven by time in the market, not trying to predict the ideal entry point

• All-Time Highs Often Lead to More Highs– did you know that the S&P 500 closes at an “all-time high” almost 7% of the time? And those “highs” act as a floor 30% of the time (Investing at All-Time Highs)

• Compound Growth Favors Action Over Hesitation– the earlier you deploy your capital, the more time you have to harness the power of compounding growth

Of course, it’s just as important to stay invested during the inevitable market downturns. When prices fall, superior businesses are essentially “on sale.”

Think of it this way: Why would you run in the opposite direction when prices of a valuable asset are 20% to 30% lower? Investing may be the only situation when human beings run away from lower, cheaper, less expensive prices!

Markets at record highs can feel unsettling, and we’ll be the first to admit that we’re not good at forecasting market movements. No one else is either, despite what you might hear and read, together with the tons of money wasted trying to discover an edge.

That is why our clients stay fully invested all the time. It requires considerably less energy and the results are typically much better.

It’s natural to feel cautious when the market hits record highs. If you wait for the “perfect” time to invest, however, you’ll probably be waiting forever.

Conversely, there will come a day when many people you know will be panicking out of their perfectly good long-term investments, and you won’t be because of the work we’ll be doing together!

Your future self will thank you!

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Andy, Patty, and the Proquility Team