by Jeremy A. Wechsler, Esq.
Investment Advisor Representative
[email protected]
Last week, I was in beautiful Topeka, KS with our newest advisor on the team, Austin. He and I had the opportunity to learn from other professionals across the country and it’s always interesting to hear new ideas to help our clients. Events like these remind me how much of an impact we advisors can have on the families we serve, and I always come home motivated to do even better.
There’s been no shortage of news lately, which I read while in the air. But if I read every financial headline that pops up on my phone, I’d probably convince myself the economy is ending about three times a week. Inflation, interest rates, tariffs, wars, AI, the housing market… pick your poison. There’s always something that makes us wonder, “Is this the one that’s different?” Can we ever just be told, “Everything’s moving along just fine today”? Wishful thinking, I suppose. If there’s one constant about investing, it’s uncertainty.
We’ve lived through 9/11, the Great Recession, COVID, and plenty of other events that felt world-changing at the time. It’s been a rocky ride, hasn’t it? Do you remember when we thought this crisis or that event would last forever? Our brains tend to do that.
There’s actually a name for it: negativity bias. As humans, we are wired to focus attention on the bad news rather than good news. Thousands of years ago, that instinct kept us alive. Today, it mostly keeps us doomscrolling on financial news websites. And when markets shift, we tend to dwell on recent losses instead of appreciating long-term gains.
The economy isn’t perfect—risks are real, markets go down and recessions happen. Keeping your head in the sand and ignoring reality isn’t a strategy. But neither is assuming that every scary headline requires us to change course.
Here’s a question I find helpful: “Will this still matter in ten years?” Sometimes the answer is yes. Most of the time, it’s probably no. I’ve found that’s a helpful filter—not just for investing, but for life in general.
The world has never offered investors certainty. In fact, if the future were completely predictable, investing would be a whole lot easier… and probably a whole lot less rewarding.
So the next time the headlines convince you the sky is falling, remember that they’re designed to grab your attention—not necessarily to improve your decision-making. Sometimes the best financial move isn’t doing something at all. It’s remembering that we’ve felt this way before. That’s part of our role: helping families separate the headlines from the decisions that truly matter. The volatility will come and go—don’t let the roller coaster dictate your every move.
And if the ups and downs are too much to bear or you’re just feeling a little queasy, grab a time with us and let’s take a look at your options.