The stock market's in a panic, so we ask ourselves: Are we investing?

Hello!

Those of us following the stock market will probably have noticed that it's having a rough year, leading to a fair degree of what seems like panic. Which leads us to a lesson we've learned over the years.

Never invest in something you don't understand, and have very little control over.

With knowledge, experience, and control we are able to minimize our risk while maximizing the reward.

This is truly the basis for all forms of investment. Without some degree of knowledge, experience, and control, we are not investing, we are speculating. Speculation is not taking calculated risk, it is taking blind risk, and hoping things work out.

The conventional wisdom seems to tell us to just setup a retirement plan, consistently throw money into the market, and hope that after enough time the trend will be "positive enough" to get us where we want to be.

That is speculation. Yes, the market generally trends positive. But what if the market decides to go into a recession as we approach retirement? Do we get to choose when the market will tank and when it will recover?

I pulled out of the stock market a few years ago, and I have never been happier about my investments.

I now choose who I invest with based on their integrity, knowledge, and experience.

I now choose what I invest in based on my knowledge, experience, and control.

We take calculated risk. We invest. This is why our trend has been better than the stock market, and outrageously less volatile. This is why we have been able to consistently generate strong returns for ourselves and those who have partnered with us.

Like many of us in the BiggerPockets audience, our knowledge, experience, and control tends to focus around real estate, but the same can be applied to other asset classes. Because with knowledge, experience, and control, we have the wisdom to make sound judgement, we have the power to act on those decisions, and we have the skill to execute according to plan. 

Thanks for reading!