The media and your money

Warren Ingram explains why making money moves based on headlines is not a good idea for any investors

- Warren Ingram

I believe we need to start a conversation about the daily — or hourly — media and managing our money, and this column is a good platform to do it.

It is not useful for private investors to consume large amounts of daily media. Great investment decisions typically focus on periods that exceed five years. Reading daily or hourly media feeds about US President Donald Trump’s latest comments or endless forecasts regarding the end of the South African government of national unity is neither helpful for your sanity nor for making rational investment decisions.

Unfortunately, the headline writers at some of South Africa’s largest online media publications are solely interested in your views or engagements — your financial or mental wellbeing is not of concern to them. Therefore, you need to protect yourself and use the right information to make the best decisions possible.

Many, if not most, people don't read long articles online — they just scan the headlines. This is unfortunate because the nuances critical to our understanding of issues are not found in a headline or social media post. They must be explained and developed in a well-crafted article or column.