A month ago, on January 6, protesters invaded the United States Capitol. Many investors feared that there would be a dramatic effect on the stock market, but it remained stable. Not long after the attack on the Capitol, a new interruption occurred when the GameStop (NYSE: GME) short squeeze – started by the Reddit WallStreetBets segment – started.
Investors may be more confused and anxious than ever, with some questioning the future of the stock market. Here, in a video recorded on January 6, Silly analyst Tim Beyers reminds investors that capitalism and the stock market have stood the test of time, and that the business of investing continues.
Tim Beyers: Let’s get into the news here, and I want to address that because it is not partisan, it is not politics. I’m quoting our producer Mac Greer here on this one. But protesters stormed the Capitol in the United States.
If you are not in the United States, you may not know what that means, but we have a Capitol where the United States House and Senate act today, regarding the election in the United States. The election in the United States was held in early November, and the final votes in that presidential election would be certified by what we call the Electoral College here in the United States
This is not civility, so let’s not go into details about it. This is also not a political show, so we are not going to make a political statement about it, but it is scary. I’ve never seen this before. This has never happened before, where one side of the political divide is so furious and so virulent that people took to the streets and became so deafened, whatever you want to say, that they literally invaded the United States Capitol. This never happened before.
So, especially for you from other parts of the world, you may be watching us, here in the United States, and wondering ‘What the hell is going on?’ I want to validate that this can seem very scary. If you are an investor, you may think, ‘What is this going to do? Is capitalism safe? ‘I just wanted to first validate everything you are feeling – be it fear, anger, frustration – to know that you are not alone, that is valid.
But, I want to give you a little historical perspective here. Political protest has been around for a long time here in the United States. We don’t know the details of that, and because we are not a political show, we won’t go into the details of that. But what we know historically is that capitalism has survived and the stock market has survived hundreds of years of turbulent times. The business of investing in incredible deals is the best process ever.
What a time for us guys to be talking about mindset. It is specifically at times like this, and I will speak for myself here, without projecting on anyone else. My first reaction to that was anger, frustration, restlessness, restlessness. And then I have to pull myself back and say, but the business of investing continues. The business of investing continues, I know it’s true. I know that the quality businesses I maintain are still businesses of exceptional quality and that has not changed.