By Kevin Slater, CEO, SoundView Advisors
“Sometimes heroism is nothing more than patience, curiosity, and a refusal to panic.” – Leif Enger
We have never experienced a year anything like 2020. From the cascading impacts caused by COVID-19 on social behavior and the economy to the giant waves in performance that rolled across the financial markets to the unendingly tense political environment, it has been a remarkably complete package of interpersonal, political, and socioeconomic stress.
I used to joke that you can tell which people at a reunion have young children—they look older, heavier, more tired, slightly more irritable, and have worse haircuts than everyone else. It feels as though this year has had some combination of those effects on nearly EVERYONE.
The upside of stress is that you learn who people genuinely are and what they care about most. The boxer Mike Tyson famously said: “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. While that can be said of investors in a bear market, it also applies to how people respond while under severe stress. These are times when your tidily crafted plans and carefully scripted words are forgotten, and you respond instead out of your deepest priorities, feelings, and concerns.
Our team has been nothing but wonderful. In addition to the public stress we all faced, they have also had to handle a flood of new technology, schooling children at home, personal and family health issues, and the disruption and disappointment of ever-changing plans.
This has been a season when it is easy to be short-tempered, frustrated, and selfish. Yet, they have remained positive and been quick to help each other and serve you well. Rather than see these circumstances as a reason to compromise on quality or quit caring, they have instead seen a greater need than ever to serve others. I have never been prouder of our team.
In a year of great difficulty, I hope you have felt their care and support as much as I have. They are amazing and by Leif Enger’s definition, heroes.