Beware the clickbait!
MONEY ADVICE: NOT ALWAYS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS
Sorting the wheat from the chaff of financial advice could be critical to your financial future.
While I was standing in line waiting to board a flight to Cape Town early in the morning last week, I was approached by an elderly lady who asked for my help. Her wide eyes and cracking voice convinced me to step out of the queue.
She told me she and her husband had read an investment article that had caused a major disagreement. She felt that if her husband followed the article, they would be left financially compromised. She asked me to talk some sense into her husband.
Financial distraction
The husband had read a few articles that had made him increasingly concerned about the state of his SA investments.
Finally, he read he should sell his investments and move to cash for several years. The wife had been diligently reading books by people like Warren Buffett and John Bogle, who say market timing and relying on predictions is a sure way to lose money over time. I was able to calm the husband down enough to postpone his decision until we could discuss it in more detail.
This episode caused me to reprise my role and those of other financial commentators. I think a few talking heads are causing harm, not realising people make decisions based on what they hear or read.
When I write articles in the media, I try ensure that I provide honest, objective views that are educational. I believe that some of my views might run contrary to certain preconceived ideas and I try to challenge these with rational views based on respected research. I also ensure my content never promotes my personal or business interests. This does not mean that my views are always right but hopefully they will be rational and objective.
Unfortunately, others have a more narrow, self-serving agenda. Unscrupulous operators generate content designed to manipulate people and cause irreparable harm to their savings. So I limit my contributions to media houses that have strong editorial policies.
As a consumer of financial media, I make a point of reading anything written by certain commentators because I know they have valuable, well-reasoned insights. I also make a point of not reading other commentators because I believe they have narrow objectives. In the 1990s columnist Jane Bryant Quinn called this type of content financial pornography, nowadays we might call it clickbait. In South Africa, certain media houses are happy to generate any content that will get them reads, viewers or listeners.
Trusted advice
Moneyweb is one of the few bastions of editorial quality that I would like to be associated with. However, that does not mean that all the views from columnists published in Moneyweb should be believed as gospel.
I suggest you read all opinions (including this one) with a critical eye and don’t make big decisions in a rush.
Warren Ingram is co-founder of Galileo Capital