Good Afternoon,

March 2025 and March 2026 have felt very similar. In both periods, geopolitical risks have increased, bringing a wave of uncertainty with them. From tariffs to ongoing global conflicts, there’s been no shortage of anxiety running through the markets recently.

Just about every time I flip to CNBC to see what the markets are doing, it’s the same type of headlines.

“Stock market tumbles on oil prices, surging yields”

“Dow Jones confirms correction territory as Middle East tensions drag”

“The great tech fake-out, stock market tumbles”

“Tariff uncertainty causes Dow to tumble”

It feels never-ending. Why? Fear sells. Which do you think gets more clicks… “Dow Jones up 0.3% for the Day” or “This one mistake could ruin your retirement”. It’s almost always the one that creates urgency and concern.

When it comes to the stock market and our portfolios, we’re taught to ignore these headlines, good or bad, because they’re designed to trigger emotion and push us toward action. When markets decline and portfolio values drop, the natural instinct is to step in and try to “fix” it or to do something.

Sometimes, the best thing to do, is simply nothing.

Usually, when markets are under pressure and headlines are at their worst, discipline and the art of doing nothing matters most. Why? Because when we let our emotions make our financial decisions for us, the results are often worse than the volatility we were trying to avoid. When we go back to the core of a financial plan, short-term headlines and market swings don’t define long-term outcomes.

Take the past 3 weeks for example. This rally we’ve experience the last 3 weeks has been nothing short of historic (see chart below). We’ve experienced the 13th largest 3-week gain in the S&P 500 since 1950. None of the headlines 3 weeks ago could have predicted this strong of a rally would come as tensions in the Middle East stretched.

Going forward, history tells us that winning streaks in the stock market are typically followed by winning streaks.

We pour our time and energy into building you a financial plan that withstands the ups and downs of market uncertainty and volatility. Your portfolio is built with these environments in mind, and we are actively monitoring and making adjustments where appropriate to keep it aligned with long-term goals. By having us on your team, you don’t have to react to every headline, and can trust that there’s a disciplined process behind every decision being made.

So, next time there’s a negative or fearful headline, remember… you have a plan in place, and a team actively managing it with your best interest in mind.