If you’ve watched or read the news lately then undoubtedly you’ve heard about the issues facing Greece and Puerto Rico. The bottom line is that both countries are struggling financially. Greece cannot pay the $1.5B note on the money they’ve borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMB) and Puerto Rico cannot fully repay its $72B debt.
So, what do I think about all of this?
First, our portfolios have very minimal exposure to either country. We have seven funds with exposure to Greece ranging from 0.04% to 0.59%. And we have two funds with exposure to Puerto Rico ranging from 0.03% to 0.32%. Even though we have very minimal exposure to these two countries in our portfolios, it doesn’t mean that everything is fine. As a result of the way the investment markets emotionally react, other investments will likely be impacted, at least temporarily. People will think that the sky is falling, but you shouldn’t fall into that trap.
Second, our investment strategy is built on historical research. Specifically, in order to obtain the gains from the stock market, you must remain invested through all market cycles as market gains come at unexpected times.
Based on these points, we are not making any changes to our investment strategy. Additionally, all of this will smooth out over time and people will realize that Greece and Puerto Rico only represent a very small fraction of our world economy. And in the long run, these two countries will not affect our global markets. If you should have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Please feel free to add your thoughts by commenting below.