By Jennifer Rideout, Wealth Advisor, Assante
Nowadays, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid talk of the markets. There are 24/7 cable channels devoted to investing and business, newspaper articles and internet coverage. The wall-to-wall talk long ago reached the point of oversaturation.
As investment advisors, we look on the financial media somewhat skeptically. On the one hand, there are thoughtful, informed voices in the media worth listening to. More often than not, however, we’d say the business press can be harmful to an investor’s long-term goals.
Why? Let us count the reasons…
1. Financial News is Filled with Predictions: try picking up the business section of a major newspaper and going through the headlines. Chances are that you’ll encounter all sorts of confident predictions, be they are from columnists, economists or analysts. You will probably read about the outlook for currencies, commodities, and the stock market as a whole, among other things. Why is this bad for investors? Simply put, there is nothing to say these predictions will come true. And investors who follow the guidance of these supposed gurus can easily be led astray.
2. The Media is Obsessed with Cause and Effect: every day, there are countless articles trying to explain all the movements in the markets. It’s understandable: the media feels like it has to print something, so it attempts to give a ‘why’ for many of the ‘whats’. For instance, we often see headlines like, “Stocks Slump on North Korean Tensions”, or (the next day, maybe), “Stocks Surge as North Korean Tensions Ease”. Is this important information for the average long-term investor? Not at all. We would even go further, and say that sometimes, figuring out the ‘why’ is all but impossible. Just like the media’s obsessions with predictions, the attempts to link cause and effect can distract an investor from their objectives. Better to keep your eyes straight ahead on your goals rather than become fixated on day to day market movements.
3. Financial Journalism is Sensationalistic: Related to #1, the media loves stories about disaster. There’s a saying in general news that, “If it bleeds, it leads” (i.e. gets top billing). We would argue the same is true with investing stories. Imagine there are two articles. The first is titled “Stock Market Could Crash”. The second is headlined “Advisors Recommend Diversified Portfolio”. Which one do you think will make the front page? Clearly, it’s the one about the possible crash, even though we would strongly argue that the other article is far more important for most investors.
Information vs. Entertainment
Truth be told, there’s nothing particularly harmful about investing news in and of itself. So, if you just enjoy following the markets, that’s perfectly fine. Where the media becomes a problem for an investor’s portfolio is if it causes negative behavioural patterns to sink in. If you find that tuning in is causing you to focus too much on the short term and lose sight of your long-term plan, it might be time to tune out.
Jennifer Rideout
Wealth Advisor
Assante Capital Management Ltd.
Assante Capital Management Ltd. is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. This material is provided for general information and is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to compile this material from reliable sources however no warranty can be made as to its accuracy or completeness. Before acting on any of the above, please make sure to see a professional advisor for individual financial advice based on your personal circumstances.
