Robert F. Pickels, CFA, chief investment officer, Whitney & Company, says there are certain topics that come up over the years that can be worrisome to some investors and that this year he’s seen that happen with tariffs and the tariff policy.
“It has been scary to people and justifiably so because we haven’t really been in an economic regime where tariffs were a prominent feature in a hundred years,” he said. “You really have to go back to the 1920s when we were using tariffs aggressively as part of our trade policy.”
Pickels explains that one of the roles of a financial advisor is to remind investors that even though policies change and markets go up and down in the short run, they tend to go up over the long term and to stay the course and keep emotions like fear out of the decision-making process.
“We invest in companies that tend to have very strong businesses and very good balance sheets,” he said. “These are companies that are going to survive no matter what happens. Our philosophy is just: buy great companies, hold them for the long term, and try not to get into the emotion of the short term.”
In addition to having a long-term view and not getting swept up in the volatility of things like tariffs and geopolitical issues, Pickels emphasizes the importance of diversification and an investment approach individualized to one’s goals and risk tolerance.
“We use bonds for stability and income; we use stocks for growth, and we use cash for liquidity and the mix of those assets that we use depends on the risk tolerance and the goals of the client,” he said.
