The war in Ukraine is a tragic and dramatic event shaking the foundations of a peaceful Europe. As the owner of this blog, I wrote the following almost two years ago:
Currently, most visitors to my site come from Europe and the USA. It would be nice if more people would visit this page from even more regions of the world. In the best case, the TEV Blog contributes to the peaceful intercultural exchange of people who would otherwise never have met in their lives. That would be an achievement!
The TEV Blog was meant to be more than just a simple financial blog where I analyze stocks or track my cash flow. I wanted to write in general about finance, risk management, and general insights. And I wanted to use the internet to enable exchange with as many people as possible.
I never intended to make money with the blog. This is an advantage for me now. I am not dependent on writing about stocks when I don’t want to write about them. I don’t blame anyone for writing now about stock xy paying dividends tomorrow. Likewise, I don’t mean to condemn people who upload videos to YouTube titled “War – How You Should React” or “4 Dividend Stocks That Profit From Conflict.”
I am well aware that the moral aspect of the war in Ukraine is an emotional aspect, to be separated from the rational asset management of investors. In this respect, it is reasonable for investors to ask themselves how they should position their assets now. This is especially true for people who earn their money with asset and risk management services.
None of that applies to me, however. For me, the TEV Blog is a heart’s matter with no commercial impact. It is a hobby that I share with the world. But since it is a hobby, the reason for doing it is the joy of it. I do not feel this joy right now.
I do not feel joy in seeing the stock markets fall. Do I continue to invest in stocks? Yes, this is part of rational asset management. Do I feel the same passion for writing about it as I did a few weeks ago? No, because stock price performance is too closely related to the crimes in Ukraine.
I am European, and I fight for a free and peaceful coexistence.
TEV