Unfortunately, I will not be posting a detailed commentary this week. I live in SC, near Augusta, GA and we were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Helene. Our power has been out since early Friday morning but the good news is that our damage was confined to a lot of down tree limbs and one, quite large, tree uprooted in the side yard. I don’t expect to get power back before the middle of the week and it could easily be longer.

We lived in Miami for 30 years so I’ve done more than my share of hurricanes. I know how to prepare and I know what to expect in the aftermath. I think after leaving South Florida I let my guard down and so I wasn’t as prepared for this storm as I should have been. My punishment for that is to be uncomfortable for a while, something I can easily endure.

There may be an investing lesson here too. We can’t prepare for every potential problem in the market or the economy. We can’t anticipate all the storms that may cause us to be uncomfortable. Trying to hedge against every gust of volatility has a cost even if you do it well. If you take less risk or you hedge it away, you will reduce your return too. There are no free lunches.

That doesn’t mean that we don’t try to anticipate changes. But every wobble in the market does not warrant a tactical response. Sometimes the best thing to do is just ride it out lest you turn an uncomfortable outcome into a more painful one. Humility is an investor’s best friend.

Rest assured that the Alhambra team is taking care of business even if I’m working under less than ideal circumstances. We have an experienced team that has been together a long time and the day to day work of serving our clients will not suffer one iota. I am so grateful for the people that are Alhambra.

One last thing. What we got here pales in comparison to what is going on in eastern TN and western NC. There is no level of preparation for an event that extreme. All we can do is respond. I have not had a chance yet to look for organizations providing assistance in those areas but I will post them when I do. And if you know of organizations that would benefit from some donations, please email us and I’ll put them out to our email list.

I want to thank all those who texted or called me over the last few days. I am humbled and awed by your compassion.

Hopefully our power is back by next Sunday but one way or the other you will get a full commentary next week.