Lexington Times (March 2024)

Walking The Tightrope of Optimism

Successful financial planning and long-term investing require significant faith in the future. Faith in humanity to continue progressing, trust in the financial system to continue operating with integrity, and confidence that short-term market crises will be temporary. While we will continue to espouse the benefits of rational optimism, it must remain within the bounds of rationality. Left unchecked, the investor is entering dangerous territory.

The Deceptive Allure of “More”

Our desire to accumulate more is grounded in evolution. A striving for “more” drove past generations to create the world we now live in, and current-day economic theory is still based on the assumption that “more is better”. But, in a world where most of us have moved well beyond providing for basic needs, does this instinct for more create problems we could do without?

The Stock Markets

(Updated March 1st 2024)

The key benchmark you should care about is achieving all of your financial and life goals and not running out of money.

The Unimportant Numbers – 1 Month

Monthly figures are a distraction from your long-term goals, we’ll help you avoid the noise.

The Important Numbers – 30 Years

Investing in the Great Companies of the World has produced life-changing returns for the disciplined and patient investor.

Inflation – The Real Enemy (Updated March 1st 2024)

The number one enemy of the long-term investor is the financial dragon called inflation (the silent but steady increase of prices over time).

The only sane definition of money is purchasing power, and over the last 30 years, inflation in the UK has almost halved the value of your money.

But an investment in the global share market has consistently provided protection from this enemy.

IN THE MEDIA

The media is not a friend of the disciplined and patient investor. Whether it’s on TV, Print or Online, the media prefers to focus on short-term returns, market predictions, and negative news. Which is not suitable for a long-term investor.

Below are the stories, podcasts, and images which we wanted to share with you this month, which are uplifting, interesting and informative.

These links below will take you to articles on other websites.

Positive News

Here is this month’s selection of positive news stories not related to investing.

Further Reading

Here are some articles you may find interesting this month.

Listen & Watch

A Picture is worth 1000 Words

  • Inflation Projections by Country, in 2024​
    in 2024, global inflation is projected to decline to 5.8%, down from a 6.8% estimated annual average in 2023. We show inflation projections across 190 countries.
  • ​The World’s Most Powerful Passports in 2024​
    In 2006, people could travel visa-free to 58 countries on average, while today that number has jumped to 111 destinations. Even in the last year, French, German, Spanish, and Italian citizens can now travel visa-free to three new countries.
  • ​Mapped: 2024 Global Elections by Country
    With almost half of the world’s population residing in countries holding executive or legislative elections in 2024, it’s set to be the busiest election year ever recorded.