06/24/2026
Everyone has a plan until the market punches them in the mouth.
It’s easy to feel comfortable with risk when things are going well.
The real test comes when volatility shows up and the dollar losses feel very real.
That’s why asset allocation should be decided before the downturn, not during it.
A good plan balances the math with the emotions, helping you hold a strategy you can actually live with when markets get uncomfortable.
The goal isn’t to avoid volatility. It’s to prepare for it with clarity and guardrails that fit your life.
A friend called me in March 2020 - three weeks into the COVID crash - and said something I hear in some version almost every year: “I thought I was fine with risk.