Execute your plan, plus 🧁 weekend sprinkles 🧁
The Sandbox Daily (4.25.2025)
Welcome, Sandbox friends.
Today’s Daily discusses:
execute your plan
🧁 weekend sprinkles 🧁
Let’s dig in.
Blake
Markets in review
EQUITIES: Nasdaq 100 +1.14% | S&P 500 +0.74% | Dow +0.05% | Russell 2000 0.00%
FIXED INCOME: Barclays Agg Bond +0.37% | High Yield +0.09% | 2yr UST 3.754% | 10yr UST 4.251%
COMMODITIES: Brent Crude +0.80% to $67.08/barrel. Gold -0.86% to $3,319.8/oz.
BITCOIN: +1.61% to $95,018
US DOLLAR INDEX: +0.23% to 99.609
CBOE TOTAL PUT/CALL RATIO: 0.99
VIX: -6.16% to 24.84
Quote of the day
“It's the moments that I stopped just to be, rather than do, that have given me true happiness.”
- Richard Branson, Virgin
Execute your plan
Some are suggesting the current market is not investable. Some share these overtures on the tv networks, others in our private conversations with clients.
Economists are revising recession probabilities higher, inflation expectations are spiking on the assumption that tariffs will be passed on to consumers, and there’s seemingly no end in sight to the current global trade war.
Investor’s patience has been put through the ringer in 2025.
That being said, investors should always remind themselves to execute the game plan. Stick to your playbook and stay on target.
When it comes to financial planning and investment strategy, it's important to recognize what we can and cannot control.
We can control our own behavior, make thoughtful financial plans, and adjust our strategies as needed. However, we cannot control the economic cycle, market movements, or policy decisions that impact the broader financial landscape.
Getting out of the market if you’re invested or getting into the market if you’re sitting on cash is a decision that should be dictated more by your personal circumstances and investment plan and less so by present day market dynamics.
What’s your time horizon, what are your risk management procedures, and what goals are you funding?
As the late Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard, once said:
“The idea that a bell rings to signal when investors should get into or out of the market is simply not credible. After nearly 50 years in this business, I do not know of anybody who has done it successfully and consistently. I don’t even know of anybody who knows anybody who has done it successfully and consistently.”
Rain or shine, committing to your plan remains the best outcome for you long-term, even if short-term results are mixed and torturous.
The worst risk to yourself is abandoning the plan when the going gets tough.
Execute your plan and stay on target.
🧁 Weekend sprinkles 🧁
Here are the ideas, sights, and sounds that caught my attention this week – perfect for quiet time over the weekend.
Blogs
The Strazza Letter – Beware of the V (Steve Strazza)
No Mercy / No Malice – United Sates of Debt (Scott Galloway)
We’re Gonna Get Those Bastards – Live and Let Live (Jared Dillian)
The Diff – Thinking-Things-Through Privilege (Byrne Hobart)
Musing on Markets – Buy the Dip! The Appeal and Dangers in Contrarian Investing. (Aswath Damodaran)
Sherwood News – The U.S. is Raking in Record Customs Revenues in April (Hyunsoo Rim)
Wall Street Journal – The Mistake You’re Making in Today’s Stock Market, Without Even Knowing It (Jason Zweig)
Podcasts
Odd Lots – Anna Wong: Empty Shelves are Coming Soon (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
RiskReversal Pod – CrackBerry to RoboTaxi: How Dan Niles Thrives in Tech Investing Hype Cycles (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
Facts vs. Feelings – Cathie Wood is Back! (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
Movies/TV Shows
Havoc – Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker (Netflix, IMDB, YouTube)
Music
Harry Styles – Golden (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube)
Books
Sahil Bloom – The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life (Amazon)
Tweet
That’s all for today.
Blake
Questions about your financial goals or future?
Connect with a Sandbox financial advisor – our team is here to support you every step of the way!
Welcome to The Sandbox Daily, a daily curation of relevant research at the intersection of markets, economics, and lifestyle. We are committed to delivering high-quality and timely content to help investors make sense of capital markets.
Blake Millard is the Director of Investments at Sandbox Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor. All opinions expressed here are solely his opinion and do not express or reflect the opinion of Sandbox Financial Partners. This Substack channel is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information and opinions provided within should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision by the reader. Investors should conduct their own due diligence regarding the prospects of any security discussed herein based on such investors’ own review of publicly available information. Clients of Sandbox Financial Partners may maintain positions in the markets, indexes, corporations, and/or securities discussed within The Sandbox Daily. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates stated here are forward looking statements and are inherently unreliable; they are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur.
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