Sunday, November 26, 2023

Black Swan

I've been working in personal finance for 35 years as a tax consultant. During this time, I've talked to many clients about their money and investments. The term "Black Swan Event" has caught my attention several times in the past. Surprisingly, I never looked it up in the dictionary, but I understand it means something that no one could predict, something that hasn't happened yet.

 

In simple terms, a Black Swan Event is like a big surprise that causes a lot of problems. Usually, it makes the markets go down. How long the problems last depends on how the economy reacts.

Recently, we faced a situation, and I wondered if it could be a small Black Swan Event for us. So, I searched online to find out what exactly it means. Here's what I learned:

Investopedia says a Black Swan is an event that nobody expects, and it can have really bad consequences. These events are very rare, have a big impact, and people often say they should have seen it coming after it happens.

According to Britannica, a Black Swan Event is a big thing that's hard to predict. It's unexpected and challenging to get ready for, but people often say it was bound to happen when they look back.

 

Wall Street Mojo tells us that a Black Swan Event is something that happens out of the blue, beyond what anyone thought would happen. These events are so rare that when people study patterns to make predictions, they don't even consider them.

The Black Swan Theory is about events that are tough to predict in regular business. They're random and unexpected but have a big impact. These events are like outliers because there's no past information that shows they will happen in the future.

This got me curious, so I read more to find out where the term came from. The idea of a Black Swan comes from the belief that all swans are white because that's what people knew. But in 1697, a Dutch explorer found black swans in Australia, surprising everyone and changing what was known.

This history makes the term more interesting, showing it comes from an unexpected discovery. It proves that events can be unpredictable, a key concept in the world of personal finance's Black Swan Event.

 

In the end, Black Swan events teach us that surprises can happen in money matters. Things we don't expect, like sudden big changes, can mess up our plans. Understanding these rare and unexpected events helps us be ready for anything in our finances. It's like a lesson to be flexible and not assume everything will go as planned. The term itself comes from the idea that not all swans are white, as once believed. This shows us that what we know can change, and we need to stay alert to the unexpected. So, learning about Black Swan events is like having a guide to handle the ups and downs in our money world with smart and flexible thinking.

 

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