The sky is falling. Up is down, black is white and the world is going to end for a variety of sectors, stocks and other asset classes. At least that’s what every financial publication would have you believe. The reason for gloom is that the Federal Reserve finally decided to raise interest rates once again.
As you know, the central bank has kept rates in the basement for the six or seven years following the Great Recession. This was done to stimulate borrowing and, ultimately, to boost the economy. After plodding along for what seems like forever, the Fed decided that the economy was actually doing well enough to raise rates.
And now the panic starts.
We’ve been conditioned over the last six years to prepare for rising rates. That somehow the event was something to be feared. However, in reality, rising rates don’t do anything for the vast majority of us when it comes to investing. We can, so to speak, have our cake and eat it too.
