Tiger Woods roared to life by winning the 2019 Masters – his fifth green jacket. He last won at Augusta in 2005 and it’s his first major win in 11 years. Athletically, his win marks one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports.
His trials and tribulations are well documented, and few people gave him much of a chance of returning to glory. After his fall from grace, experts weighed in on his golfing future:
Stephen A. Smith, “His short game is gone. His health is gone.”[1] Mr smith is now suggesting “Tiger will catch Jack Nicklaus for the most major wins.”[2]
Jamele Hill said his next press release should be, “I’m retiring.”[3]
Colin Cowherd considered him a “former golfer.”[4]
Shannon Sharpe added, “He will never, ever be that guy again.”[5]
It takes perseverance and courage to pursue your goals after an 11-year dry spell. It’s even harder when people are telling you to quit and you’re a has been, but he kept swinging. Several sponsors dropped him after his fall including AT&T, Accenture, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble and Tag Heuer. Nike, Bridgestone Golf Balls and Taylor Made, however, stayed the course with Mr. Woods and they were rewarded when he conquered Augusta on Sunday.[6]
Investors would be wise to follow his lead, especially when it comes to perseverance. A few investment sectors have been out of favor for a long time, even decades. The urge to move your money from underperforming sectors may be high, but history tells us this may be a mistake. Ask Tiger.
Let’s look at a few investment categories in need of a win.
International Investments. Foreign markets have trailed U.S. stocks for the past 1-, 3-, 5- 10-year periods – by a lot. A $10,000 investment ten years ago in the Vanguard S&P 500 index fund (VOO) is now worth $26,280. By comparison, the same investment in the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) is only worth $12,830 – a difference of $13,450. International stocks account for about 48% of the world’s market capitalization, so an allocation to this sector still makes sense.
Value Stocks. Growth stocks have outperformed value stocks over the past 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, and 25-year periods. Value stocks did outperform during the lost decade of the 2000s. What is a value stock? Some popular names include Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobile, Pfizer, AT&T, Walmart, and IBM. Growth names include Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Disney, Netflix and Mastercard.
Fixed Income. Stocks have trounced bonds for the past 92 years by a ratio of 49 to 1. A dollar invested in stocks in 1926 is now worth $7,025. The same dollar invested in bonds grew to a paltry $142. Bonds have shown brief moments of brilliance by rising 25.9% in 2008, 27.1% in 2011, and 24.7% in 2014. Despite their lackluster returns and low yields, bonds are needed for safety and liquidity, especially during times of stock market turmoil.
In hindsight, allocating 100% of your portfolio to U.S. large-cap growth stocks makes sense. But this is not a prudent strategy for most investors. Dating back to 1992, the Vanguard Growth Index fund (VIGIX) generated an average annual return of 9.7%, but it fell 58.5% during the Tech Wreck (2000 – 2002) and 49.6% during the Great Recession (2007 – 2009). During the fourth quarter of last year it fell 19.8%. Not many investors would have had the courage, or foresight, to stay invested during those tumultuous days.
At times we must walk through the valley to reach the mountain top. During the dark days it takes faith and fortitude to hold on for better days. To be a successful investor, focus on the long term, ignore the noise, diversify your holdings, invest often, rebalance annually, and keep your fees low.
So, tee it up and invest for the win.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. ~ Romans 5:3-5
April 16, 2019
Bill Parrott, CFP®, CKA® is the President and CEO of Parrott Wealth Management located in Austin, Texas. Parrott Wealth Management is a fee-only, fiduciary, registered investment advisor firm. Our goal is to remove complexity, confusion, and worry from the investment and financial planning process so our clients can pursue a life of purpose.
Note: Investments are not guaranteed and do involve risk. Your returns may differ than those posted in this blog.
[1] Skratch TV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fue0sQs5jtI, website accessed 4/15/19.
[2] http://www.espn.com/golf/, accessed 4/15/2019
[3] Skratch TV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fue0sQs5jtI, website accessed 4/15/19.
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiger-woods-rewards-nikes-loyalty-with-masters-win-11555351215?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1, April 15, 2019, Suzanne Vranica and Khadeeja Safdar