As soon as people I meet find out I’m a financial adviser, often I am asked how I think the markets are going or how a particular stock may be a good buy or overheated.
My response is often a blank stare. I often don’t know. I don’t know how specific stocks are doing. I don’t know what the exact value of the NZX50 is at any given time. I don’t always know if it was a good or bad day in the markets.
That may sound strange coming from someone so interested in numbers and finance, but that’s the thing. Because I am so interested in that stuff, I have setup systems and plans that I am 100% happy with, so that I don’t need to worry about the day to day. I am happy with my long term focus.
Even though I update our net worth progress once a quarter, I don’t pay any attention to how my stock funds are doing. Hopefully they are trending upwards, but I don’t always know the exact returns of each fund until I do my annual rebalance.
I am confident that I have chosen the right funds in the right percentages for my needs and goals. The rest is just noise. I know funds have bad years. I know funds have great years. I don’t care. I’m not interested in chasing the next big thing or jumping on a bandwagon for a hot stock. This strategy has frequently been proven to be a losing strategy.
I think the reason many are not interested in investing is because it seems too hard and too much hard work. It really doesn’t have to be though. If you can be confident in your planning, then you can set up robust systems so that you hardly need to think about this stuff. The best financial plans are ones that allow you to get on with your life. To live. Not to waste time worrying about what is happening in the financial markets. Life is far too short for that.
The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here