Ken Fisher for Forbes - 5 Fantastic Stocks for Fretters

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Jun 26, 2013
As summer’s dog days melt into a daze, please remember that ubiquitous worries usually melt away, too. The fret-about-it list seems most benign now, in my view, but the fret-o-meter still registers within its historic range. Why? Because worrying is human.

Scandals in Obama-nation; China’s tepid growth; Europe’s lingering woes; stocks up too much, too fast; rising long-term rates; when QE ends–or doesn’t! Fill in your own five worries. Then there are the perennial faves: debt, inflation, terrorists, the Middle East, creeping socialism, creeping Obamaism–endless creepyisms.

As 2013 started, the big worry was the fiscal cliff. Then the sequestration. Those are now starting to feel like distant memories.

Worrying is normal, and we have a tough time disciplining our minds to resist it. But in my view it’s pointless. Any reputable doctor will tell you worrying is bad for your health, and that holds true for portfolios as well.

It’s time to recall the late great investor Sir John Templeton’s famous line: “Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria.”

Where are we today? We have one foot planted firmly in skepticism with the other straddling over to optimism. That means we’re about halfway through the bull market–with about four more years to go. Until the fret-o-meter drops further and we get much more optimistic, there is little to worry about.

As I write this the market is taking a tumble over Fed-tightening worries. Bernanke anxiety makes me even more bullish. Here are some fret-free stocks for pure summer enjoyment.

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