Evidence-Based Investment Insights: You, The Market, And The Prices You Pay
Explore how market pricing and group intelligence shape investment decisions, and why evidence-based investors work with market forces rather than against them.
Welcome to the next installment in our series on Evidence-Based Investment Insights: Ignoring the Siren Song of Daily Market Pricing.
In our last piece, “You, the Market, and the Prices You Pay,” we explored how group intelligence governs relatively efficient markets (as well as jelly beans) in an imperfect world. Next, let’s look at how prices are set moving forward. This, too, helps us understand why traditional active investors face a steep hurdle by trying to compete against rather than participate in efficient markets.
What causes market prices to change? It begins with the never-ending stream of news informing us of the good, bad and ugly events that are always taking place. For example, when there are reports that a fungus is attacking Florida trees, orange juice futures may soar, as the market predicts that there is now going to be less supply than demand.
But what does this mean to you, your investment portfolio and every investor’s quest to buy low and sell high? Should you buy, sell or hold tight to your juiciest investments?
Before the news tempts you to chase or flee active trends, it is critical to be aware of the evidence that tells us the most important thing of all: You cannot expect to consistently improve your outcomes by reacting to breaking news.
How the market adjusts its pricing is why there is not much you can do about breaking news. There are two principles to bear in mind here.
First, it is not the news itself that moves the price. It is how it impacts our expectations. When a security’s price changes, it is not whether something good or bad has happened. It is whether the news is better or worse than expected. If it is reported that an orange tree disease is continuing to spread, pricing changes may be minimal if everyone was already bracing for ongoing doom and gloom. On the other hand, if an ingenious new fungicide is announced, prices may change dramatically in reaction to the lucky break.
Thus, it is not just news, but unexpected news that alters future pricing. By definition, the unexpected is impossible to predict. So is how, and how dramatically (or not) market players respond to it. For example, what is good news to one industry may be bad news to another. Once again, group intelligence gets in the way of those who are hoping to outwit others by consistently forecasting future prices.
Another reason to be cautious about making investment decisions based on breaking news is what we will call “The Barn Door Principle.”
By the time you hear breaking news, much of that information may already be reflected in existing market prices. The proverbial horses may already have galloped past your open trading door.
This is especially so in today’s world of electronic trading, social media, and increasingly sophisticated algorithmic systems. Prices can adjust rapidly as fresh information becomes available and market participants respond.
In other words, attempting to trade on widely available breaking news means competing against countless other investors and sophisticated trading systems that may already be acting on the same information. Reacting after prices have adjusted can leave investors buying higher or selling lower than they otherwise might have.
Avoid trying to play an expensive game of market whack-a-mole based on ever-evolving information and competition over which you have little control. Instead, focus on the elements of investing you can control, including diversification, costs, the amount of risk you take, and maintaining a disciplined approach aligned with your long-term goals.
This post was written and first distributed by The Writing Company.
DISCLAIMERS
This material is intended for general public use. By providing this material, we are not undertaking to provide investment advice for any specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity. Please contact one of our financial professionals for guidance and information specific to your individual situation. This is not an offer to buy or sell a security.
Shore Point Advisors is an investment adviser located in Brielle, New Jersey. Shore Point Advisors is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission. Shore Point Advisors only transacts business in states in which it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration. Insurance products and services are offered through JCL Financial, LLC (“JCL”). Shore Point Advisors and JCL are affiliated entities.
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