In 1985, the song, ‘We Are the World’, hit the music charts as a response to the famine in Africa. Its message that we are all united in support helped raise millions of dollars for those in need. And, today, the song’s message is still the same during the COVID-19 outbreak—we are all in this together and will make it through these tough times.

In difficult times, we look for ways to make meaning of the chaos. We are, by nature, social. Interacting with others and being productive help provide a sense of purpose and meaning to our lives. And therein lies the opportunity to reach out to support others through this shared experience. There are many around us who may need a phone call or connection to give them encouragement and support. And reaching out helps each of us feel better as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curve ball into investing. Protecting people’s lives is essential yet the economic fallout from closing our economy causes anxiety for millions who are missing financial support. In difficult times, we look for ways to make meaning of the chaos. 

As investors, we recognize there is no crystal ball for the future. Instead, we look through an historical perspective and realize that we have gone through downturns in the past and recovered. The primary lesson from an examination of six other disasters, reported by the Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2020, is that there is a “trade-off between [protecting] public health and economic stability”, but that government action can blunt the economic shock. We are thankful that governments are coming down on the side of public health in this crisis.

From a dynamic perspective, the market behavior we have seen over the last month or two has played out many times in past periods of economic stress. Yes, this one has proven extraordinary in its breadth, depth and speed; nevertheless the dynamics of flight to safety are not unique and we believe that the economy and markets will recover. 

We plan to stay the course and believe long term investors will be rewarded. From a theoretical perspective, value investors are rewarded for providing liquidity in the markets. From an historical perspective, when markets are down is a good time to buy value. While there are no performance guarantees, when investors overreact in selling, JM’s investment process continues mining for underpriced securities that have the potential for return over time. 

So, our message to you from Jantz Management is that we will overcome this together. Moments like this underline our humanity and show how connected we are to each other in the world. We are more alike than different which is good when we realize our own humanity and how alike we all really are. We will survive and can do so with compassion and understanding for those around us as we all go through this together.

Christine Jantz

Jantz Management CEO