A year ago, I was writing this same sentiment – that February historically brings us opportunities. We can find a blessing in most market trends if we look hard enough. The blessings of February are often an opportunity to buy at a low and an opportunity to build your investment muscle by riding out seasonally normal volatility and gaining the experience that comes from that. The only way to become a seasoned investor is to experience all of the seasons – the good and the bad. This is the cold and muddy season of the market we need in order to see flowers bloom later on. Remember the super bloom the wildflowers saw in the Pacific Northwest last summer? It was a product of the cold, rainy weather pattern that came before it. That pattern was mirrored in the returns of our Mainsail Equity Portfolio Model that were partially boosted by the buying opportunity that came in the market pullback earlier last year. A seasoned investor doesn’t worry about what the market will do; we just execute the plan we have in place for whatever is thrown at us, and we go about our day

Conservative estimates are projecting the S&P 500 to rise to 7600 by the end of this year, and more optimistic analysts are projecting the market will reach 8000 by year’s end. There are plenty of news headlines making investors wonder whether we’re approaching a burst in an IA bubble and whether it’s time to trim holdings in the mega-cap technology stocks, but I’m in agreement with the many analysts who believe the bigger risk to the health of our portfolio would be a lack of sufficient exposure to the ongoing AI boom. I’ve been investing since the late 90s, and in that time, there has never been an advantage to betting against the tech sector. If that day comes, I’ll trade accordingly, but that day is not here.

February can be a cold, unpleasant month in the weather and in the market cycle. I recommend the same thing I suggested last year. Find something good to make of it. Last year, I challenged myself to keep a salad bar stocked in my fridge so I could eat a salad every day for the month. I did OK with that challenge. I enjoyed the salads, and the habit never died completely. I still often have a salad bar stocked in my fridge, and because I dislike wasting food, it forces me to eat salads every day, so none of it goes bad.

This year, let’s challenge ourselves to see how many push-ups we can do by the end of the month if we practice every day. Watch yourself gain strength, and watch your performance improve, and recognize the similarities in the strength you’re gaining as an investor by riding out another poorly behaved market in February.