Financial risks: Market timing volatility and inflation impacts

Financial analysis highlights the risks of market timing and the eroding effects of inflation on savings. Based on S&P 500 data from 2006 to 2025, Tommy Lackey of Relativity Capital Advisors demonstrates that attempting to avoid the worst trading days can lead to massive gains, but missing the best trading days can result in devastating losses. For instance, avoiding the 24 best days annually could reduce a $100,000 investment to just $65 over 20 years, whereas a 'buy and hold' strategy would have grown it to nearly $780,000.

Separately, inflation continues to impact the purchasing power of cash held in non-interest-bearing bank accounts. With an estimated average inflation rate of 2.5% in the Czech Republic for 2025, the real value of savings decreases even if the nominal balance remains unchanged. For example, 1,000,000 CZK held in an account with 0% interest would see its real value drop to approximately 975,610 CZK due to rising prices.