Page 28 - Investment Advisor - October 2021

COVER STORY

Beware of ‘False Hope’ for the End to COVID

lways be ready for the next cri- Financial Portfolio
A sis. Retired U.S. Army Captain Planning Construction
Social
Tax
Christopher Manske steadfastly abid- Planning Retirement Security Trusts & Estates
Planning
ed by that tenet serving in Germany
and Bosnia for five years. As a 21-year
financial advisor, he now applies the
same perspective to coping with the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“The more we hold onto the false
hope of ‘an end’ to COVID, the less
ready we’ll be for what’s coming as
things change,” the founder and presi-
dent of Manske Wealth Management
argues in a recent interview with
Investment Advisor.
COVID-19 won’t “be over” and
“behind us,” maintains Manske, 49.
“It’s going to be around just like the
flu. These viruses aren’t going to disappear. déjà vu with the nation and maybe even the
It’s not accurate to say ‘when this is all over’ Christopher Manske world reeling from the fact that the virus
about COVID.” has mutated. The need to vaccinate remains
Nonetheless, he contends that the coronavirus the same.
now “has a lot less influence over the market” since I’m very much against language that talks of “an
it has already been priced into it. After 12 years as a top Merrill end” to COVID-19. There won’t be “an end.” COVID is going
Lynch advisor post-Army retirement, Manske opened his own to be around, just like the flu. A lot of the messaging is tied to,
RIA nine years ago in Houston. He focuses primarily on the “When this is over” or “When this is behind us.”
consulting industry, energy and retirement planning. AUM: We’ve got to move past that because the more we hold onto
nearly $400 million. that false hope of “an end,” the less ready we’ll be for what’s
Author of “The Prepared Investor: How to Prevent the coming as things change. The idea that we’re going to get back
Next Crisis from Affecting Your Financial Independence” to how it used to be “when this is all over” is [unrealistic] — no,
(2020), Manske’s current recommendation to clients is we’re not.
to change their focus from how COVID is affecting their We need to get to a point where after we’ve had our vac-
investments to “what’s really affecting investments.” That is: cinations and an annual booster shot, we’re as [protected] as
“Inflation will become our biggest enemy during the next 5 to possible against this virus.
10 years,” he predicts.
In the interview, the CFP discusses his optimistic outlook Is the future just as uncertain now as it was last year?
for the volatile market during the rest of this year and the It’s very uncertain. But the coronavirus has a lot less influence
sectors he likes. In opining on reasons behind the nation’s now over the stock market from a crisis standpoint. It’s been
unexpected labor shortage, a major one, he says, is that by pro- priced into the market.
viding stimulus payments, the government ”overestimated”
the pandemic’s “danger” to businesses. What are you talking to your clients about when it comes
During a phone interview with Manske in mid-August, the to investing?
Houston-based advisor called the issue of whether to raise I’m asking them to consider changing their focus from COVID
interest rates “a pickle” for the Federal Reserve, remarking affecting their investments to what’s really affecting invest-
that, in view of the huge national debt, “some say the govern- ments. Right now, that’s inflation — the value of the dollar
ment is manipulating things to its benefit.” going down — and the crazy uptick in real assets like real estate
and other commodities.
Investment Advisor: With delta-variant cases spiking among
the unvaccinated, does this seem like a repeat of what Do you foresee inflation rising to a much higher level?
happened in the pandemic last year? Inflation is going to be our big enemy over the next five to
Christopher Manske: It does seem like we’re experiencing 10 years.

26 INVESTMENT ADVISOR OCTOBER 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com