Process Over Panic: Why to Resist the Urge to Think It's Different This Time

Retirement Answer Man

Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, RMA, CPWA®

Lifeplanning, Retirementplanning, Financialplanning, Saving, Careerplanning, Self-improvement, Education, Retirementpodcast, Investing, Business, Investmentmanagement, Retirement

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

💬 Show Notes

In this episode, we tackle the pressing question, "Is this time different?" as we navigate the complexities of today's political and economic landscape. Join us as we explore the importance of perspective in retirement planning and discuss the basics of structured notes. We'll also introduce our upcoming events and share insights from renowned experts in the field. Don't miss this enlightening discussion that aims to help you not just survive retirement, but thrive!

SUMMARY OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

(00:00) The narratives that you consume and ultimately create for yourself define your reality
(00:45) Today we are going to finish up our basics with the basics of structured notes and also talk about “process over panic” regarding the current state of affairs.

IS THIS TIME DIFFERENT?

(04:10) Roger discusses whether the issues in the economy are different this time around then in times past.
(07:40) The point of this discussion is to identify what is happening and how to respond to it.
(08:40) A better question when it comes to planning is “Is this time permanent?”
(10:58) Roger talks about the current markets versus historical markets.
(11:46) Since 1928, there have been around 26–28 bear markets, averaging a 35% drop and lasting about 9.6 months. They tend to come around every five years—and they’ve never been permanent.
(12:47) From presidential elections to battles with the Fed, these cycles may feel chaotic—but they’re nothing new and they’re not permanent.
(14:31) Roger talks about “process over panic”

STRUCTURED NOTES

(21:34) Roger goes over the basics of structured notes.
(22:17) Roger uses food as a metaphor to break down investments—organic options like stocks and bonds are simple and transparent. But structured notes? They're the Twinkies of the investment world.
(25:50) Structured notes at their core are debt.
(26:57) Roger compares structured notes to wine—different types, different flavor profiles, and even the same variety can vary from year to year or region to region.
(28:31) What are some types of structured notes?
(29:22) What should you know about your structured notes?
(32:00) Each structured note has a prospectus, a legal document that investment managers are required to create, but they are very difficult to understand
(34:21) Roger sees structured notes as a potential building block for a retirement portfolio but avoids them due to their complexity.

SMART SPRINT

(36:35) In the next seven days, take five or ten minutes to write out your process for retirement planning.

BONUS

(37:44) Roger reads from his grandfather’s WWII journal.

REFERENCES

Retirement Answer Man
Sign up for The Noodle (previously known as Six Shot Saturday)
Thomas Sowell
Wall Street Journal
Claude AI
ChatGPT

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The narratives that you consume and ultimately create for yourself define your reality.
0:08.2	And right now, the public narrative is this time is different when it comes to the political,
0:15.0	the economic, the world structure. It sure feels different this time. I've given this a lot of thought,
0:24.1	and I've determined, is this time different? Yeah, it is. Welcome to the show dedicated to
0:35.3	helping you not just survive retirement, but to rock retirement
0:38.9	because you have the confidence because you're doing the right work to create a great life.
0:44.8	We're going to finish up our basics theme this month.
0:48.8	And we're going to talk about the basics of structured notes today as the second part of
0:52.6	this show.
0:53.7	But I changed the theme or the second part of this show, but I changed the theme or the,
0:55.8	the title of the show to talk about this, is this time different, as well as process over
1:02.1	panic, mainly because I'm having this discussion a lot. I'm having it with individuals.
1:08.4	I'm having it in the club. I'm responding to emails that I'm
1:11.7	receiving from people like you that listen. So that means this is worth discussion. We got to talk
1:17.3	about this. So we're going to do that today. We're also going to finish up the basics on the basics
1:20.6	of structure notes. Now, looking forward next month, May, we're going to focus on perspective. We're going to start with an episode on
1:30.3	Social Security. We're going to bring an expert on to suss out facts versus fiction in terms of
1:36.2	how security is for us. Then we're going to have Meyer Statement talking about beyond behavioral
1:42.1	finance and creating a great life. Third week of the month,
1:47.3	we're going to have legendary Charles Ellis, author of one of my favorite books,
1:51.9	Winning the Losers game. Many of you might not have heard of this. It's like one of the OG
1:55.6	books of passive investing and how to be successful. He's going to share some thoughts on that. He's going to share
	...

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