Benjamin Beck, CFP®The Triumph is in the trying
Growing up in South Portland, Maine, you didn’t have to be a runner to know the name Joan Benoit. The Cape Elizabeth native was a legend on the roads, long before she shocked the world in 1984 by winning the very first Olympic women’s marathon.
But to truly appreciate what she did, you have to remember when she did it.
Joan came of age in an era when women were discouraged—and in some cases, barred—from participating in distance running. Many believed women weren’t physiologically capable of handling endurance events. Even medical professionals and race directors said it would be too damaging, too risky, too much.
It wasn’t until 1972, just twelve years before her Olympic triumph, that Title IX was passed—finally requiring schools and universities to provide equal athletic opportunities to women. But access didn’t equal acceptance. The resistance was still strong. There were no guarantees, no cheerleaders, and certainly no proven path to Olympic gold.
Joan didn’t let that stop her. She trained relentlessly. She tuned out the noise. And when the world finally watched, she didn’t just win—she dominated from start to finish.
Her story isn’t just about running. It’s about conviction. Patience. The quiet courage to stick with a long-term goal in the face of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
And in that way, it’s exactly what successful investing looks like.
It’s our pleasure to report to you on the progress of your financial plan during the rather tumultuous first six months of this very eventful year.
As always, let's first remember a handful of the timeless truths about enduringly successful wealth management—principles that guide our work together toward your goals. Then we can proceed to some more current observations.
General Beck Bode Principles
- We are goal-focused, plan-driven, long-term equity investors. Our portfolios are derived from, and driven by, your most important lifetime financial goals, not any view of the economy or the markets.
- We don't believe the economy can be consistently forecast, or the markets consistently timed. Nor do we believe it is possible to gain any advantage by going in and out of the equity market, regardless of current conditions.
- We therefore believe that the most efficient method of capturing the full premium compound return of equities is by remaining fully invested all the time.
- We are thus prepared to ride out the equity market's frequent, often significant but historically always temporary declines. We believe that even during such trying episodes, our reinvested dividends will be buying more lower-priced shares—and that the power of equity compounding will be continuing, to our long-term benefit.
market Commentary through July 2025
If you looked at the equity market on the first trading day of this year, and not again until the end of June, you could be forgiven for concluding that not much—if anything—had happened. In fact, a great deal happened—but at least so far, to no lasting effect.
The S&P 500 Index made a new all-time high on February 19th. By April 8th, it had closed 18.9% lower. And even that doesn't express the degree of sheer panic—there's no other word for it—that enveloped the markets upon President Trump's announcement (on April 2) of a dramatically increased tariff protocol.
The panic ended just as abruptly after Mr. Trump announced a 90-day postponement of most of the new tariffs. And in the seven weeks or so since then—buoyed by continued strength in the economy and signs that inflation may be continuing to moderate—the Index returned to the neighborhood of its early January levels.
As it virtually always is, the optimal course of action for long-term investors was simply to continue working your plan. That's what we encouraged you to do. And as the second half of the year begins, that recommendation stands. Please don't mistake this for an economic or market outlook. We have no such forecast for the next six months, any more than we did on January 1.
Our only forecast is that excellent businesses of the kind we own will go on innovating over time—increasing their earnings, raising their dividends, and supporting our clients' pursuit of their long-term goals.
Panic doesn't often seize the investing public as suddenly as it did in the first week of April, nor vanish as suddenly as it did the following week. Still, this episode can and should serve as a kind of tutorial.
Its lesson: investors succeed over time by continuously working their plan regardless of the current “crisis.” Others fail by reacting to negative events and liquidating even the highest quality equities at panic prices. We believe that's always the fundamental choice in investing, and our mission—which we cherish—is to help you continue to choose wisely
Triumph Through Discipline
Joan Benoit once said, “The triumph is in the trying.”
She didn’t run to prove anyone wrong—she ran to prove what was possible. That quiet determination, that willingness to train through doubt and discomfort, is the same mindset required to reach financial independence.
Wealth isn’t built in sudden bursts. It’s earned the same way Joan earned that gold medal: with relentless focus, often when no one’s watching, and especially when the world is telling you to stop.
That’s the work we’re doing together. Not chasing headlines, not trying to outguess markets—but running our race with purpose.
So when volatility hits—and it always will—remember that we’ve trained for this. We’ve built a plan. And we’re sticking to it.
Because in the long run, the triumph is not in prediction. The triumph is in the discipline.
Be Relentless,
—Benjamin Beck, CFP®
Ben Beck is Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer at Beck Bode, a deliberately different wealth management firm with a unique view on investing, business and life.