There’s a lie buried deep in investing conversations: average returns.

Lose 50 percent one year.
 Gain 50 percent the next.
 Sounds like you broke even.

You didn’t.
 You’re still down 25 percent.

Losses don’t cancel out gains. They compound against you. The deeper the drawdown, the more brutal the math becomes. A 50 percent loss doesn’t need a 50 percent recovery. It needs a 100 percent gain just to get back to zero.

This is why boring beats exciting.
 A portfolio that avoids big losses will outperform a volatile one with flashy averages, every time.

The real game isn’t chasing upside.
 It’s protecting the downside so the math stays on your side.

Today’s Move: Look at one investment and ask a harder question than “What’s the return?” Ask, “How bad can this get if I’m wrong?” Don’t dig a hole so deep that the math can’t save you.

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