A month ago, on January 6, protesters stormed the US capital. Many investors were worried that there would be a dramatic effect on the stock market, but it held steady. Not long after the attack on the Capitol, a new disruption occurred when the GameStop (NYSE: GME) short print – initiated by the Reddit thread WallStreetBets – has started.
Investors may be more confused and anxious than ever, and some question the future of the stock market. Here, in a video recorded on January 6, Foolish analyst Tim Beyers reminds investors that capitalism and the stock market have stood the test of time, and that the investment continues.
Tim Beyers: Let’s get here in the news, and I want to address it because it’s not biased, it’s not political. I quote our producer Mac Greer here. But protesters stormed the Capitol in the United States.
If you’re not in the United States, you may not know what that means, but we have a Capitol building where the House and Senate of the United States are doing business today on the U.S. election. The US election was held in early November, and the final votes of the presidential election had to be certified by what we call the Electoral College here in the US.
These are not civilians, and we are not going to discuss details about this. Nor is it a political show, so we are not going to make a political statement on this, but it is narrow. I’ve never seen it before. This has never happened before, where a side of the political divide is so angry and so virulent that people have taken to the streets and made themselves so frothy, whatever you want to say, that they are literally the Capitol of the United States stormed. It just has never happened before.
Especially for those from other parts of the world, you can watch us here in the US and wonder, ‘What’s going on?’ I want to confirm that it can feel pretty tight. If you are an investor, you may feel, ‘What is this going to do? Is capitalism safe? “I first wanted to confirm what you are feeling – whether it’s fear, anger, frustration – knowing that you are not alone, it is valid.
But I want to give you a little historical perspective here. Political protests have long existed here in the United States. We do not know the details of this, and because we are not a political show, we are not going to discuss the details of this. But what we do know historically is that capitalism has survived and that the stock market has survived hundreds of years of turbulent times. The business of investing in amazing businesses, it’s a better process than it has ever been.
What a time for us, guys, to talk about mindset. It’s specific in times like these, and I’m just going to tell myself here without projecting on anyone else. My first reaction to this was anger, frustration, restlessness, nervousness. And then I have to pull myself back and say: but the investment continues. The investment continues, I know this is true. I know that the quality businesses I own are consistently exceptional quality businesses, and that has not changed.