It sure seems to have come quickly this year, but Christmas is here again. Despite everything going on in the world – the volatile markets, the death of Kim Jong Il, debate over the payroll tax extension, etc – it’s always important to take time around the holidays to look back and be thankful.

With all the family activities this time of year, the holiday season truly is a time for reflection. It’s a wonderful opportunity to enjoy family and friends, and remember all the things we take for granted, from our health to the freedoms we enjoy every single day.

It’s always easy to get down during hard times, and that certainly characterizes the past three years. With a poor job market, slow economic growth, and tightening credit, we can safely say that these are not America’s best days.

The end of each year always brings reflective articles with statistics and commentary, which have been fairly revealing in the past week or two. We’ve learned that the average mutual fund is down roughly 6% this year, and that approximately 90% of all funds are in the red for 2011.

Sadly, that isn’t to say there hasn’t been money to be made; it’s just that the buy-and-hold strategy used by most investors simply didn’t work.

In spite of all this bad news, let’s not forgot that we’re still here. We’ve lived to fight another day. Regardless of all the doomsday forecasts, the world hasn’t come to an end. The dollar hasn’t collapsed, and people aren’t looting. Contrary to the predictions of some popular political commentators, people haven’t needed to stock up on ammunition and gun powder.

The bottom line here is that while it’s true times may be tough, we have plenty of reasons to be thankful – especially in this country. So for those who didn’t give enough thanks back in November, use this time to catch up. Spend a little time really thinking about all the things that are going right, and let the things that aren’t worry about themselves for a change.

So here’s wishing you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS or otherwise Happy Holiday. Next week be sure to look for our year-end article where we look forward to 2012 and discuss preparations investors ought to be making.

Dock David Treece is a discretionary money manager with Treece Investment Advisory Corp and is licensed with FINRA through Treece Financial Services Corp. He has appeared on numerous television radio programs including CNBC’s The Kudlow Report, and also writes for several financial news websites including MarketWatch and Green Faucet, where we previous served as an editor. The above information is the express opinion of Dock David Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

Tags: Christmas, Dock David Treece, Treece Blog

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 8:34 am and is filed under Treece Blog.
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