One of our all-time favorite columnists, whose insights we’ve shared here before, is Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal. Jason authors “The Intelligent Investor,” a column named after Benjamin Graham’s classic book—often referred to as the ultimate guide on investing. (Warren Buffett calls it “the best book about investing ever written!”)

Jason’s opening line in his latest article sums up a core message you’ve seen here for years and in our client letters:

“Investing isn’t about mastering the markets; it’s about mastering yourself.”

Put simply, your behavior as an investor has a greater impact on your long-term returns than any market movement. This is where we come in—to help you stay calm and fully invested, whether markets are booming or turbulent.

As Benjamin Graham said in 1949:  

“The investor’s chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself.”

In today’s environment, staying steady is harder than ever with social media, trading apps, and online distractions. For more on why, we highly recommend Jason’s full article here, which includes links to further resources. And of course, we’re always here to talk through any of these topics—just give us a call or schedule a time here.

In his recent piece about investor behavior, Wall Street Journal Columnist, Jason Zweig profiles real investors who took the long view in the int first half of 2020. “Markets Bombed, Investors Carried On” reminds us why maintaining self control in a volatile market is key for long term success. Our favorite quotation? Arlyne Willcox said, “My experience in 2008 told me: Stand still, be patient, take baby steps so you don’t overreact but feel like you did something.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. You can check out the rest of the piece here.

Behavioral and emotional aspects of our planning are important to us. When we better understand ourselves, we get closer to breaking our old patterns. For more inspiration, we point you to a recent WSJ article “For the New Year, Say No to Negativity”.

What we love about the article is that it acknowledges the truth found in the research – bad stuff impacts us more than good stuff – but the article and corresponding book offer practical ways to turn the corner towards a clear focus on health and wealth in 2020. And you know we are suckers for anyone who uses our motto “take the long view” to help readers/investors shift their outlook to a prosperous lens.

“By rationally looking at long-term trends instead of viscerally reacting to the horror story of the day, you’ll see that there’s much more to celebrate than to mourn.”