The Noise Factory
This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
Weekend Reading
Are you letting outside “noise” – irrelevant and unpredictable market events – distract you from your long-term financial goals?
READ THE ARTICLEWhat you should know: Most financial market events, such as the Federal Reserve's decisions or geopolitical conflicts, may seem important but have minimal impact on long-term investment objectives. However, if something does matter, it must also be predictable to be useful in decision-making. Here, author Joe Wiggins shares a framework for handling these instances:
📌 If an event matters and is knowable, use the information
📌 If it matters but is unknowable, diversify
📌 If it neither matters nor is knowable, ignore it
Key Takeaways: Your hesitation to ignore “noise” can stem from psychological tendencies like fear of uncertainty, the desire to appear knowledgeable, and industry pressures to conform. By focusing on what truly matters and is knowable, you are more likely to improve your long-term results and avoid being misled by menial market chatter.