Geopolitical events are often frightening and, seen in the moment, can cause investors to make rash decisions in an effort to try and predict the future or avoid volatility. But history shows that markets are resilient and reward those who invest for the long term. In the past 50 years, we have had several wars, two superpowers in a nuclear arms race, a pandemic with a terrifying new disease, oil embargoes, terrorist attacks, etc. And yet, the markets have always rebounded and rewarded investors who stick it out.
When there is news of crisis around the world, we remind ourselves why diversification is such an important part of our investment strategy.
One of our strategic investment partners is Dimensional Fund Advisors. They run what we consider to be the best mutual funds in the industry. DFA says this about geopolitical events: “If markets stay open and continue to function normally, we generally continue investing our portfolios according to our usual process. We believe that the most effective way to mitigate the risk of unexpected events is through broad diversification and a flexible investment process.”
DFA announced that “in January 2022, we halted further purchases of Russian stocks in response to rising risks of sanctions… We are not currently buying Russian shares, … and we are evaluating the suitability of Russian securities for our portfolios.”