What caught my eye this week.
I have used more than one of these Friday missives recently to talk about the shakier corners of the market.
But this week saw even the giant US bellwethers take enough of a beating for ardent indexers to notice.
Rather than listen to my pop market psychology again (don’t worry, I’ll be back) I’ve rounded up some other people’s views below.
Please note! If you have a plan and you’re happy with it, you’re welcome to skip all this stuff.
Especially if you think focusing on it might derail your sensible strategy.
Similarly if the volatility is getting to you emotionally, there’s no shame in taking a timeout, either.
Markets will be markets, regardless of whether you and I pay attention.
And whether they crash or soar, what looked terrible on a stomach-churning day like last Monday won’t be visible on an index graph in a year.
Am I bovvered?
Perhaps a good rule-of-thumb is to match the interest you give to these gyrations with the cadence of your investing activity.
If you invest automatically [1] every month, I wouldn’t worry about weekly wobbles. If you rebalance once a year, maybe check out until December.
You needn’t suffer the daily turmoil with us masochists for no reason.
As Taleb stressed in Fooled by Randomness [2], whether stocks are up or down in a day is very nearly a coin-flip – close to 50/50…
…but losing half the time feels far worse.
You want some more? Here’s a selection of nicely-baked takes:
- Jason Zweig: why you should sit out the market mayhem – WSJ [3]
- Four good reasons to sell stocks now – Morningstar [4]
- Is this the end of the go-go years? – A Wealth of Common Sense [5]
- We don’t get to choose when the market drops – The Belle Curve [6]
- Four reasons investors should worry about volatility – Peter Lazaroff [7]
- The big wobble – Banker on FIRE [8]
- Is this a big rotation from growth to value? Sort of – Valididea [9]
- Some reminders for a market crash – A Wealth of Common Sense [10]
From Monevator
Pay off the mortgage or invest: with a new calculator – Monevator [11]
How do zero commission brokers make money? – Monevator [12]
From the archive-ator: Strategies for investing in bear markets – Monevator [13]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view you can click to read the piece without being a paid subscriber. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing if you read them a lot!1 [14]
UK property rents rise at fastest-ever pace – Yahoo Finance [15]
Increasing the state pension age has kept more over-65s at work – IFS [16]
Large investors driving up property prices in Europe’s big cities – Guardian [17]
Two men take a corpse into Post Office in attempt to claim dead man’s pension – Guardian [18]
Watchdog says people underpaid state pensions ‘left in the dark’ – Which [19]
Law commission says drivers should not be liable for AI accidents – ThisIsMoney [20]
New list of the individuals who pay the most tax in Britain – Guardian [21]
US tax start-up targeting crypto traders hits unicorn valuation – Decrypt [22]
[23]
Electric vehicle sales set to surge in 2022 – Axios [24]
Products and services
Amazon and Barclays’ ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme explained… – Which [25]
…and sector gorrila Klarna also set to launch in UK – Guardian [26]
Open an account with InvestEngine via our link and get £25 when you invest £100 (T&Cs apply) – InvestEngine [27]
Nationwide finally ups the rates on some savings deals – ThisIsMoney [28]
Common mistakes that can invalidate your boiler warranty – Which [29]
Homes for sale in historic ports, in pictures – Guardian [30]
Comment and opinion
Will the UK’s 20-year housing bubble ever end? – UK Dividend Stocks [31]
The plight of first-time buyers [Search result] – FT [32]
Project Mickey – Humble Dollar [33]
Robinhood, Reddit, and the revolution that wasn’t [Podcast] – Bogleheads [34]
17 ways to save money on your household bills in 2022 – Which [35]
Are you really getting rewarded without any extra risk? – Fortunes & Frictions [36]
Jack Bogle at the Woodstock of capitalism – The Evidence-based Investor [37]
Personal finance in nine diagrams – Mr Stingy [38]
Rationalization – Indeedably [39]
Is it okay to subsidize spendypants adult children? – Mr Money Mustache [40]
Time is money mini-special
The opportunity cost of everything – Young Money [41]
Everything must be paid for twice – Raptitude [42]
Saving $575 for a moment of discomfort – Get Rich Slowly [43]
Crypt o’ crypto
You don’t need a Bitcoin ETF when Coinbase tracks so closely – Josh Brown [44]
Andy Warhol, Clay Christensen, and Vitalik Buterin walk into a bar – Tim O’Reilly [45]
What Nicholas Taleb got right and wrong about Bitcoin – Bloomberg [46]
Why are celebrities promoting dubious cryptocurrencies? – Slate [47]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Current conditions: the cyclone beneath the surface [Podcast] – ILTB [48]
Great look into German family HoldCo JAB – Neckar’s Insecurity Analysis [49]
Expectations investing: Q&A with Michael Mauboussin – Motley Fool US [50]
The market’s in freefall: what should I do? – Fire V London [51]
Two stocks that ended one man’s stockpicking antics – Humble Dollar [52]
The US Fed is over-egging rate expectations [Agreed, FWIW] – The Bellows [53]
Why active managers are sitting pretty despite outflows – Investment News [54]
Covid corner
Omicron’s fall has slowed. Should we worry? – BBC [55]
Kindle book bargains
How to Build a Memory Palace: Books 1&2 by Sjur Midttun – £0.99 on Kindle [56]
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland – £0.99 on Kindle [57]
The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning by Robin Sharma – £0.99 on Kindle [58]
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth – £0.99 on Kindle [59]
Environmental factors
These turtles fly south for the winter – Hakai [60]
The [non-] impact of impact investing [Research PDF, from late 2021] – SSRN [61]
Hopepunk: the optimistic new sci-fi genre [Couple of weeks old, not to be confused with solarpunk [62]!] – BBC [63]
Off our beat
Causalities of your own success – Morgan Housel [64]
On the insanity of being a scrabble enthusiast – LitHub [65]
The secret life of a super-recognizer – Guardian [66]
Fight Club gets a new ending in China, and the authorities win – Guardian [67]
Why is Ukraine such an economic failure? – Noahopinion [68]
Dreams and kindness are all we have – Interfluidity [69]
And finally…
“Thanks to auto enrollment pensions most of us are shareholders – part owners of the corporate world. That common ownership people say they crave? We already have it.”
– Merryn Somerset Webb, Share Power [70]
Like these links? Subscribe [71] to get them every Friday! Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon [72] and Interactive Investor [73]. We may be compensated if you pursue these offers, but that will not affect the price you pay.
- Note some articles can only be accessed through the search results if you’re using PC/desktop view (from mobile/tablet view they bring up the firewall/subscription page). To circumvent, switch your mobile browser to use the desktop view. On Chrome for Android: press the menu button followed by “Request Desktop Site”. [↩ [78]]