Investors often live in a state of denial. In the good times, we’ve seen investors reject the notion that the party will ever end. In the bad times, we’ve seen investors cling to the belief that things will never get better. I’ve seen recent surveys which suggest that, some three years after the official end of the Great Recession, three out of four Americans still believe that the economy is in a downturn¹ with most Americans expecting the economy to be worse next year,² irrespective of Congress’ last minute dealings to prevent income tax hikes on millions of middle class Americans. The fact that the economy continues to recover is indisputable even as the pace of growth continues to disappoint.