Fear is NOT an option

The Sandbox Daily (7.9.2025)

Welcome, Sandbox friends.

Today’s Daily discusses:

• fear is not an option

Let’s dig in.

Blake

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Markets in review

EQUITIES: Russell 2000 +1.07% | Nasdaq 100 +0.72% | S&P 500 +0.61% | Dow +0.49%

FIXED INCOME: Barclays Agg Bond +0.42% | High Yield +0.28% | 2yr UST 3.851% | 10yr UST 4.336%

COMMODITIES: Brent Crude -0.09% to $70.09/barrel. Gold +0.14% to $3,321.4/oz.

BITCOIN: +2.04% to $111,031

US DOLLAR INDEX: +0.06% to 97.571

CBOE TOTAL PUT/CALL RATIO: 0.87

VIX: -5.18% to 15.94

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Quote of the day

Rule #1 is don't sweat the small stuff.

Rule #2 is it's all small stuff.

- Robert Eliot

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The market doesn’t reward comfort. It rewards participation.

Fear is not an option.

It may feel like one – in fact, it can feel like the only logical move at any given moment.

But for long-term investors, fear is a tax on future returns. A quiet, compounding cost that comes from sitting on the sidelines while time and growth pass you by.

We all have our reasons to hold cash or invest too conservatively.

Over the last 30 years, there have been more than enough headlines to justify doing nothing – terrorist attacks, financial crises, political chaos, pandemics, wars, inflation, tech bubbles.

Take your pick.

And yet, somehow, despite all of it, the market kept moving forward over those 30 years.

The S&P 500 index returned +608% cumulatively since July 9, 1995. That’s 9.2% annualized. Not bad.

"But Blake, U.S. stocks benefitted from a once-in-a-lifetime wave of technological innovation. Apple, Amazon, Google, Nvidia – of course returns were strong. Unfair comparison."

Ok.

So, how about international stocks?

The MSCI EAFE index – a collection of developed markets around the world – returned 182%, or 4.8% per year.

Meanwhile, the MSCI EM index – a basket of emerging markets globally – grew 336%, or 6.8% annually.

And these are price returns only, which don’t include dividends that compound growth as well.

Here’s total return:

The point is simple: the world never feels safe.

There is always something to worry about. But, if your investment plan is built around what could go wrong, you’ll likely miss out on what could go right.

The market doesn’t reward comfort. It rewards participation.

Stay on target.

Source: Advisors Capital Management, YCharts

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That’s all for today.

Blake

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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!

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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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