Ignore the news

“War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

Slogan on the building of the Ministry of Truth (George Orwell, 1984)

 

The financial news offers an endless stream of scary stories and opinions.

Should you sell your stocks because of the news?

Maybe. But probably not.

You see, there’s always plenty to worry about.

Just some stuff that could have spooked you the past decade:

Student debt, Chinese ghost cities, US government debt, a possible break-up of the Eurozone, Italian government debt, stock market valuations, high-frequency trading, a Canadian housing bubble, quantitative easing, quantitative tightening, government shutdowns, falling oil prices, rising oil prices, margin debt, the trade war

Overview of risks compiled by Merrill Lynch, via Cullen Roche.

If those stories convinced you to stay out of the stock market until the skies are clear, you have missed an epic bull run.

Unless you’re a professional trader, it’s best to ignore the news. Stick to a passive, low-cost investment strategy. You will sleep better that way. And you will get higher returns than people who freak out every time they read scary stories.

The Ministry of Truth was right: ignorance is strength.

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