611 Druid Rd E • Suite 105 • Clearwater, FL 33756 • 727.441.9022
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The ProVise Advisor Team
CORONAVIRUS: DIAGNOSING THE IMPACT
Daniel Mannix, CFA
By now, we have all come to accept the inevitable fact that
COVID-19 will be a defining, pivotal moment in our history.
For high school seniors, graduation ceremonies were cancelled,
college campus visits postponed and the idea of spending the
first year away from home is now in jeopardy. We single this
group out because they were also born in troubling times.
Looking back approximately 18 years brings us to another
pivotal moment in history – the 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks.
Bracketed by trying times and separated by oscillating stock
markets, war, a financial meltdown, and political upheaval, this
brief snapshot of history has shown humanity’s resolve as well
as the abruptness with which the world can drastically change.
As the Coronavirus has swept across a world that has never
been more connected, questions concerning our preparedness
for such an event have been met with difficult answers. It
was just recently that some were peddling the idea that we
had arrived at an economic apex in which recessions and
depressions would be relics of the past. How quickly things can
unravel. This global pandemic has sparked the fastest decline
to bear market territory on record. The month of March alone
accounted for each of the top 5 largest daily point declines
in the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s history (going back to
1881), including the largest loss of nearly 3,000 points on March
16th. The virus’s impact has also extended to Main Street as
many small businesses that have closed due to the Coronavirus
may never reopen. Retailers that have been struggling for years
have received their final blows and much of the supplemental
income that many have come to rely on (ridesharing, tutoring,
short-term property rental, etc.), is no longer available.
But don’t despair, this pandemic has put true American grit
and determination on display. For one, as we look at national
death rates due to the Coronavirus across the world, America
ranks toward the lower end. While we’re not minimizing
anyone’s life (one death is one too many), it’s becoming clear
that America’s healthcare system is actually one of the best
About ProVise Management Group, LLC: ProVise is a financial planning and investment management firm registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and has been in business since 1986. Our 15 professional advisors serve approximately 1100 clients in over 30 states. As of 12/31/19 we
were managing approximately $1.5 billion for our individual, corporate, not-for-profit and 401k retirement plans. Please visit our website at: provise.com.
Investment Advisory Services offered through ProVise Management Group, LLC. The information herein is general and educational in nature and should
not be considered legal or tax advice. Tax laws and regulations are complex and are subject to change.
90 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2020
in the world. Secondly, the notorious antagonist that is “big
business” might not be so bad after all. We have seen several
examples of corporations donating supplies, manufacturers
shifting production in a wartime-like effort to help fill medical
supply shortages, CEOs forfeiting salaries, the pharmaceutical
industry working with each other AND the government to fast
track creation and production of vaccines and therapeutics, and
healthcare professionals working around the clock.
And the pent up, optimistic demand for a resurgence has
been palpable. In fact, 8 of the top 10 largest daily point gains
in The Dow’s lengthy history have taken place since March 2nd
– including the largest gain of over 2,100 points on March 24th.
One can’t help but wonder how large of a role algorithmic or
high frequency trading has played in this period of extreme
volatility. With no slowdown of advances in computing power
(and its financial applications) in sight, we believe that it is only
a matter of time until measures are put in place to soften the
blow of such market volatility.
Moving forward, our lives will be different. Society will have
to adjust just as it did after 9/11. With that said, our tendency is
to bounce back stronger than ever and this pandemic will likely
create new opportunities (and perhaps new industries) that
some will seize. In the meantime, it’s important to remember
your investment strategy. While that strategy adjusts by taking
the markets into consideration, it is never to be abandoned
completely. Fear (as well as greed) is not an investment
strategy. The long term viability of investing in profitable
enterprises at attractive valuations has never been refuted and
is the bedrock of our investment philosophy here at ProVise.
We do not choose our course because it is the one everyone else
is on, so we certainly do not abandon it when others do. We
stay the course because of our core values and the vision that is
based on them – guiding our clients through any and all market
environments through rigorous, time-tested financial planning
for your life and your lifestyle.
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