I believe you'll end up being more wealthy in the long run by being positive rather than negative with ASX shares, or indeed any shares.
There's been a lot of doom and gloom recently about where share markets are going. It's hard to separate our feelings about shares from what we see going on in Australian politics, US politics, UK politics or even just with rising interest rates.
But, I think the last 24 hours has shown how an unexpected change in the investment environment can suddenly make things seem a whole lot better.
If you think about how Australian cities looked 250 years ago you'd think that Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaine, Canberra, Hobart and so on just didn't exist.
Australia has changed an enormous amount in 250 years, in the past 100 years, or even since 2000. A lot of economic value has been created, which has been shared with Australian shareholders, or indeed Australia's entire workforce. Australia is (hopefully) going to be an even better place to live and be invested in 20 years from now.
Shareholders of ultra-long-term businesses like Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) and Australian Foundation Investment Co. Ltd. (ASX: AFI) have done very well over the past century. Many other long-term growing shares are also great ways to profit from the long-term growth of the economy.
Australia's economy has kept on growing despite all the wars, terrorist attacks, diseases, economic downturns and bad politicians. There are always potential risks. For every actual problem there are at least three times more potential issues. There is always something to worry about.
If you sold shares every time a bad thing came along you wouldn't be a part of the recovery or the compounding gains of the share market.
When you think about investing in Australia or the US, just take a decades-long view and you'll likely do well.
In the shorter-term, people who thought that things aren't going to the dogs have seen their shares go up a lot today with shares like Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) registering large gains.
It's a good thing to be prudent. It's a good thing to have a bit of cash on the side for safety and opportunities.
But, out of a choice of sticking cash under the mattress or the share market for the next 20 years, I would definitely pick the share market.
The only thing we have ultimately control over is the price we decide to buy shares. Altium and Costa Group are great shares, but they certainly aren't cheap at today's prices.
