The Cost of Sitting on the Sidelines

The Cost of Sitting on the Sidelines

Yesterday was a powerful reminder of something investors often forget: markets don’t recover slowly and neatly—they snap back when you least expect it.

In a single trading session, we saw a strong up day that effectively erased the damage from multiple prior red days. The losses that felt painful and prolonged were wiped away almost instantly. And yet, many investors didn’t benefit at all.

Why? Because they were sitting in cash.

This is where investors get themselves into trouble. During periods of volatility, fear creeps in. Headlines turn negative, portfolios dip, and the natural reaction is to “wait it out.” Cash starts to feel safe. Comfortable. Controlled.

But the market doesn’t reward comfort—it rewards participation.

Historically, some of the best days in the market occur very close to the worst days. If you miss just a handful of those strong rebound days, your long-term returns can be dramatically reduced. Yesterday was a perfect example. While some investors were waiting for “clarity,” others who stayed invested saw multiple down days erased in hours.

The irony is that the decision to hold cash often feels like risk management—but in reality, it can be one of the biggest risks to long-term wealth.

This doesn’t mean you ignore risk or blindly invest. It means having a disciplined plan. It means understanding that volatility is the price of admission for growth. And most importantly, it means deploying capital strategically rather than emotionally.

Because in investing, the biggest mistake isn’t just losing money in down markets—it’s missing the recovery when it comes roaring back.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

Colin Symons, CIO Lloyd Financial Group

JOLTs Job Openings were weak, at 6.882MM vs. est. 6.92MM, though last month’s big number was revised even higher. Quits and hires were both down. In all, you can probably call it more of the slow-motion slowdown we’ve seen for quite a while.

Chicago PMI was 52.8 vs. exp. 55.

Iran said they’re ready to end the war but want guarantees. That launched stocks and bonds, admittedly on somewhat modest volume, while oil and VIX sunk.

Trump said the Iran mission will be done in 2-3 weeks, which also kept a bid in assets, though Iranian pushback somewhat moderated those gains. It seems harder to continue fighting of your enemy is walking away.

Korea’s Kospi stock index bounced 8% as Samsung gained 13% after the market briefly entered a bear market.

Realistically, the JPM collar, leveraged ETFs, and quarter-end buying likely helped drive yesterday’s move farther than it otherwise would have.

To opinionate, plenty of people will use the above as an excuse to be dismissive of this rally, considering it temporary. I think that neglects consideration this was quarter-end, and funds are now underinvested in stocks, plus CTA’s are better to buy. I don’t think many are respecting the ability of this market to continue to rally, which is potentially a strong opportunity.

OpenAI had the largest funding round in Silicon Valley history, raising $122B.

ADP Employment, Retail Sales, and ISM Manufacturing, today. Trump is also giving a speech on Iran a 9PM EST.

What does it all mean? More solid signs the war is winding down helped give market a big boost, though hesitation is still present.

Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Let’s build a plan that gives you confidence today and peace of mind for tomorrow. Click here to schedule a meeting — I’m here to help you take the next step toward financial freedom.

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