The thrills are real and yet there is no fear.

Stock markets are at all-time highs in the US. The Dow Jones Industrial Average trails the other major indexes, up only 18% in the past year. The tech heavy NASDAQ, dominated by a handful of companies, rocks the past year with a near 42% gain.

Year-end statements for IRAs and 401(k)s brought huge smiles.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are also at all-time highs. Bitcoin up over 160% since last March 1st. WOW!!

With stocks and those indexes, $10,000 a year ago has grown to $12-14,000. With Bitcoin that $10,000 is now a whopping $26,650.

Why is this happening? Why the appetite for risk by individual investors and institutional money managers?

Does anyone notice that the Price to Earnings Ratio of the S&P 500 is now 27.8? The average over time has been quite a bit lower at 16.1. Stocks are expensive. Some are priced like Picasso's today.

And such elevated values at a time when a 2-year or 10-year government bond can guarantee a yield over 4.0% with no risk.

Or a fixed rate annuity that guarantees 5.9% for 3-years.

Others say now is a good time to be in riskier investments because-

1. We will have a soft landing for the economy, some say. The risk of a recession is behind us. That there has been a really good job maneuvering between inflation and recession by the Federal Reserve.

2. Companies are making a lot of money- you need to own stocks to get a piece of the pie.

3. The consumer remains resilient others contend- they may change where they spend their money, but the American consumer will keep on keeping on spending!

All very real and accurate statements at the moment.

But what the high values don't take into account are elements outside of the economy itself and those events that are too often out of our control.

Things we don't see coming at all. Or things we refuse to acknowledge as more possible than we hope to believe. Covid and the housing crisis respectively.

Today we have Putin killing Navalny, China hassling our ships and jets, violent storms and fires, Trump and Biden, North Korea, Ukraine, Gaza Strip, missiles fired at cargo ships, our dollar is now worth 80-cents, ransomware, $5 trillion in government debt in 2-years, a porous border, California about to run a $78 billion deficit, et al.

I hate laundry lists like that. Sorry. But there are real risks out there.

It may be time to take a few dollars of profit off the table.

It may be time to look at your "asset allocation". You might have a greater percentage of your money in stocks than you prefer, after their recent large gains.

Talk to your broker or financial advisor. They know your situation best.

Please note, moving money within an IRA or 401(k) is a non-taxable event.

Outside of an IRA or 401(k), selling one investment to purchase another can create a tax obligation. You may owe taxes if you sell investments within your after-tax account. Consult your tax professional.

Ask your financial person if you have any assets that are inversely correlated with the dollar. Something that could go up in value when your other investments go down.

An investment that "zigs" when the others "zag".

That conversation may lead you to a place for some of the stock market profits you decided to capture. Give us a call at 419-495-8700 if you would like to hear a little bit about a "zigs" asset.