Before we begin discussing where the financial market may be headed in 2019, let's recap 2018. Needless to say, anyone who invests in the stock market knows that last year was a wild ride. Stocks took off like a rocket ship in January, returning 5.7% as measured by the S&P 500.  This was one of the best starts to a year in decades. However, the enthusiasm was short lived as the stock market suffered a drop of more than 10% in less than 10 trading days in early February. Stocks retreated further in March, but eventually found solid ground and rose consistently through September. Then came the dreaded month of October which saw the S&P 500 lose nearly 7%. A brief rally in November was followed by extreme volatility in December and when it was all said and done, the S&P 500 lost 4% for the year. This marked the first calendar year loss for this index since 2008.

After a year like that, many investors are nervous as we begin 2019. These fears are clearly justified with many uncertainties in front of us. What will the Federal Reserve do with interest rates? Will the ongoing trade war with China escalate? Will the Trump presidency suffer further political fallout? Will corporate earnings slow dramatically? Just to name a few.

So, what is an investor to do in an environment like this? The best advice...