This might not seem like a PR story, but in many ways it is. Today I went to the bank and pulled the trigger and got completely out of the stock market.
It was a strange feeling given I've been invested and tracking the markets for over 10 years now. To walk away from something that you've spent a lot of time caring about and which you've been told your whole life is the ONLY way to retire some day was a unique experience. I expect these are also the reasons why so many people don't pull the trigger - because it is so engrained in their thinking that you HAVE to be invested to have a hope of retiring some day.
I thought that I'd experience mild emotions of frustration or anger over the fact that the markets - if you are a Gen-Xer anyway (which I am) - have returned next to nothing over the past 10 years.
It was funny as my financial advisor subtly showed me various funds that had returned a 10 per cent return even factoring in the recession. It just re-affirmed to me that there is an entire system out there that is vested in you remaining invested and that while it might be raining around the world, they will always highlight the one spot where it is sunny as a reason to hold out hope and follow their advice.
Anyway, I was surprised that once I had done the deal and all the papers were printed and signed, instead of frustration or anger or regret or second-guessing, I felt relief. Despite taking a black eye this week during the crash, I walked out of the bank with a big smile on my face!
Sure, I'll have to figure out a way to one day retire without compounding interest, but that's something everyone is facing, whether you are invested or not. Because there are no compounding interest gains in the market, there's only been compounding losses.
I mention that this is a PR story, because it is in a way. Think about what it says, PR wise, when someone like myself - an ardent saver, a semi-knowledgeable investor, an 'investment' friendly stakeholder - feels relief when they liquidate their holdings. What it tells you is that all the 'messaging' tactics of the past 50 years are dead.
The 'story' behind 401ks and RRSPs and TFSA and freedom 55 and all that jazz is a bust. Everything that the banks and governments messaged to their customers is now blowing up in their faces - because instead of their 'services' creating confidence and relief in their customers, the relief actually comes when you get out of those services. And that's a PR phenomena, wherein people no longer trust that what the bank or government tells you is actually in your best interest.
No brochure with smiling people, no chart showing growth of some mutual fund, no politician saying that things will be fine has any 'impact' or effect on me anymore. Heck, the markets might go up, but I don't care if I'm not there when they do (because even when they go up, the talk of 'corrections' never ends anyway).
Ironically I've heard others who have pulled completely out of stocks talk about this relief they felt and always chuckled to myself thinking - how can you feel relief when your money isn't making you money? You can't just turn your back on 'the system' and hope that things will turn out ok in the long run.
But now I understand where that relief came from. I was watching cnbc today and it's kind of absurd now to watch people bicker back and forth about whether a double dip is coming or not or whether a relief rally is coming or not. Watching one guy call another guy an idiot because he thinks a double dip is coming while the other guy thinks stocks will boom, and both are highly educated guys (which goes to show you no one can really know what is going to happen).
It's a very schizophrenic, bi-polar media landscape to listen to filled with 'talking points' that on the one hand make the viewer feel like they are being informed, yet, on the other hand leave the viewer confused as to what the heck it all means. When you are no longer paying attention to the madness (because it doesn't impact you anymore) it's definitely a fairly large psychological relief.
A lot of the relief, aside from no longer being impacted by the markets, is more about just being able to get away from the 'messages' and 'tone' associated with the markets.The PR behind the various positions and ideologies people have is enough to drive you nuts at times.
And that's the PR take away I get from all this. Not only have the banks, governments and pundits nuked the messages they spent decades espousing (investing, retirement, etc.), they've also tanked their brand in the sense that if things get better it will be a long, long time before anyone takes anything else they say seriously again. Everything they say from now on will be suspect - taken more as 'speculative opinion' than any form of authentic expertise.
While this is where I'm at, obviously not everyone is at this spot. Some got here (wisely) before I did, and others may never end up here (although one more crash and I think most will). Regardless of where people are on the spectrum, it's hard to deny that what we are going through will radically change how people view the messaging strategies that banks and governments use in the future.
It was a strange feeling given I've been invested and tracking the markets for over 10 years now. To walk away from something that you've spent a lot of time caring about and which you've been told your whole life is the ONLY way to retire some day was a unique experience. I expect these are also the reasons why so many people don't pull the trigger - because it is so engrained in their thinking that you HAVE to be invested to have a hope of retiring some day.
I thought that I'd experience mild emotions of frustration or anger over the fact that the markets - if you are a Gen-Xer anyway (which I am) - have returned next to nothing over the past 10 years.
It was funny as my financial advisor subtly showed me various funds that had returned a 10 per cent return even factoring in the recession. It just re-affirmed to me that there is an entire system out there that is vested in you remaining invested and that while it might be raining around the world, they will always highlight the one spot where it is sunny as a reason to hold out hope and follow their advice.
Sure, I'll have to figure out a way to one day retire without compounding interest, but that's something everyone is facing, whether you are invested or not. Because there are no compounding interest gains in the market, there's only been compounding losses.
I mention that this is a PR story, because it is in a way. Think about what it says, PR wise, when someone like myself - an ardent saver, a semi-knowledgeable investor, an 'investment' friendly stakeholder - feels relief when they liquidate their holdings. What it tells you is that all the 'messaging' tactics of the past 50 years are dead.
The 'story' behind 401ks and RRSPs and TFSA and freedom 55 and all that jazz is a bust. Everything that the banks and governments messaged to their customers is now blowing up in their faces - because instead of their 'services' creating confidence and relief in their customers, the relief actually comes when you get out of those services. And that's a PR phenomena, wherein people no longer trust that what the bank or government tells you is actually in your best interest.
No brochure with smiling people, no chart showing growth of some mutual fund, no politician saying that things will be fine has any 'impact' or effect on me anymore. Heck, the markets might go up, but I don't care if I'm not there when they do (because even when they go up, the talk of 'corrections' never ends anyway).
Ironically I've heard others who have pulled completely out of stocks talk about this relief they felt and always chuckled to myself thinking - how can you feel relief when your money isn't making you money? You can't just turn your back on 'the system' and hope that things will turn out ok in the long run.
But now I understand where that relief came from. I was watching cnbc today and it's kind of absurd now to watch people bicker back and forth about whether a double dip is coming or not or whether a relief rally is coming or not. Watching one guy call another guy an idiot because he thinks a double dip is coming while the other guy thinks stocks will boom, and both are highly educated guys (which goes to show you no one can really know what is going to happen).
It's a very schizophrenic, bi-polar media landscape to listen to filled with 'talking points' that on the one hand make the viewer feel like they are being informed, yet, on the other hand leave the viewer confused as to what the heck it all means. When you are no longer paying attention to the madness (because it doesn't impact you anymore) it's definitely a fairly large psychological relief.
A lot of the relief, aside from no longer being impacted by the markets, is more about just being able to get away from the 'messages' and 'tone' associated with the markets.The PR behind the various positions and ideologies people have is enough to drive you nuts at times.
And that's the PR take away I get from all this. Not only have the banks, governments and pundits nuked the messages they spent decades espousing (investing, retirement, etc.), they've also tanked their brand in the sense that if things get better it will be a long, long time before anyone takes anything else they say seriously again. Everything they say from now on will be suspect - taken more as 'speculative opinion' than any form of authentic expertise.
While this is where I'm at, obviously not everyone is at this spot. Some got here (wisely) before I did, and others may never end up here (although one more crash and I think most will). Regardless of where people are on the spectrum, it's hard to deny that what we are going through will radically change how people view the messaging strategies that banks and governments use in the future.
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