Derek Jeter – A Hall of Fame Approach to Retirement Investing

During the press conference following the game when Derek Jeter got his 3000^th hit – a home run no less – he was as expansive in his comments as I’ve ever heard him. Since I wrote about “Derek Jeter and Scorekeeping” in April, I’ve been paying close attention to both his on-field performance as well as his off the field comments.

While Yogi may be better known for his Yogi-isms, Derek made a few statements that may apply to both a Hall of Fame approach to baseball as well as to the average investor’s own “Hall of Fame” approach to Retirement Investing.

To paraphrase, Derek said that he might have a bad at bat, or a bad game, or even a bad month, while stating that “I take pride in going out there every single day and trying to be as consistent as possible.” And he also doesn’t seem to care whether his 3,000 hits are singles, doubles, triples or home runs. This long term winning approach will, in my opinion, assure him a first round election into baseball’s Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.

And what does that have to do with Retirement Investing.

1. You need to look at the long term, and intraday, daily, weekly, or monthly moves in the market shouldn’t get you down.
2. You need to be in the game to win. Jeter’s longevity and durability enabled him to become the 4^th youngest player to reach 3,000 hits. Investment studies confirm that missing key days in the market can create significant lost opportunities.
3. You should shoot for getting on base rather than the home run. Diversifying between equities and fixed income, and among funds and ETF’s, seems more prudent than swinging for the fences.
4. Finally, as his long term teammates praised Derek for his constant preparation, so too should average investors have a plan (continuously updated) for their retirement Investing.

Durability, longevity, consistency and preparation – the right approach to a career and to investing.