What Does Being a Long-Term Investor Really Mean?

Sep 29, 2015 | Agili Team Members, Commentary

We always tell our clients to be patient in times of market volatility and not to panic in a market sell-off.  We recognize that this sometimes sounds like “institutional” advice. However, this is also how each of our employees feels, on a personal level – our investment professionals, our financial planning team and our support staff.  Keep reading to find out what being a long-term investor means to several individuals on our team.

 

 

“If you are a long-term investor, your
long-term time horizon should allow you to weather downturns in the
market so that you don’t make the mistakes of selling low and buying
high.   The opposite strategy, ‘buy low & sell high,’ is one of the
keys to investment success.” -Lisa Strohm
 “By nature, I can be a bit impulsive – so I
try to put checks in place to keep me from acting too quickly.  To me,
the long-term investor resists reacting impulsively to changes in the
market and is disciplined and patient enough to wait out volatility.”
-Adrienne Martin		  

“I’m a steady as you go kind of gal. I am
not rattled by bumps in the night, ghouls hiding under the bed, or
short-term market volatility. In fact, I view a market dip as a buying
opportunity.” -Cynthia Levine
 “Long term investing to me is looking around
the corners of the market searching for the under-owned idea that may
take some time to reach full potential but will ultimately play out in
your favor.   It’s the company that is reinventing and rediscovering its
potential.” -Jeff Mussatt		  

“To me, long-term investing means not
worrying about my accounts now.  If the markets are doing poorly, I
don’t look at my accounts.  I know the market moves in cycles, and that
it will go back up, and that I just need to be patient.” -Sarah Caine

“I think of this analogy to being a long-term
investor:  If you are on a flight from New York to LA and you
experience turbulence during your flight, you don’t land the plane and
get off in Chicago.  You might make adjustments to your plan to reduce
the turbulence as you continue on your way to your final destination.”
-Marilee Falco

 

  

“Being a long term investor means
understanding what risk is, and what is not. Volatility – the
fluctuation in investment prices through an investment cycle – is not
risk. The permanent loss of capital is the true risk to a long-term
investor.” -Tom Gates

 “Being a long-term investor means
participating in the advancement of life.  Long-term investing means
allocating capital to its highest and best use customized to the
individual investor’s time horizon and willingness to take risk.” -Jack Payne

 

“To me, long-term investing is like the
turtle and the hare: slow and steady now for a payoff later.  I
purposefully don’t look at my accounts every day because it makes me
feel anxious. I rely on quarterly statements to get an idea of where I
stand, and an annual Net Worth statement that I compare to prior years.”
-Jen Pieson

 “The key to being a successful long-term
investor is keeping one’s ‘eyes on the prize’ and not over-reacting to
market volatility along the way.  But ‘buy and hold’ does not mean ‘buy
and forget,’ and even a long-term investor should regularly review and
update his or her portfolio as necessary. That said, it is crucial to
avoid panic-driven, knee-jerk reactions, which of course is easier said
than done.” -Conor Clark

  
“To me, long-term investing is about having
an investment strategy and making investments consistent with that
strategy.  When the market changes, remember your strategy and be
confident in the quality of your investments.” -Amber Ott