Good morning,
Well, a lot can certainly happen between my Monday morning musings….tariff news seems to change with the wind, Canada’s election is happening in real time, and hockey playoffs are in full swing…lots of moving pieces at the moment it seems, including the markets.
Markets, they move. They always have. They always will. Sometimes they rise quietly. Sometimes they crash loudly. But let’s be clear about something that applies to both Markets and Life: volatility isn’t the enemy. Your reaction is.
We live in a world built to trigger us. Every headline. Every chart….all designed to hijack your attention, and your peace of mind. But if you're not careful, your reaction to the storm becomes your greatest risk.
In my investment world, I’ve seen this again and again. A war breaks out. Rates rise. Earnings miss…and suddenly, the headlines shift from strategy to survival. But survival mode doesn't build wealth…it bleeds it. It’s reactive. Emotional. Exhausting. And over time, it quietly destroys what patience could have grown.
The best investors know this. They don’t move faster. They move slower, with more clarity. They don’t overreact. They observe. And when they move, they move with discipline, because they’ve trained for it.
Let me show you what that looks like in real life.
John Templeton Bought the Market During a World War
Imagine it’s 1939 --- Nazi tanks are rolling into Poland. Markets are in panic. The world is bracing for war. Most investors are pulling money out, running for the hills.
John Templeton didn’t wait. He borrowed $10,000 and bought 100 shares of every U.S. company trading under $1 on the NYSE, including 34 that were bankrupt. Senseless? Maybe. But Templeton saw what few others did. He didn’t see risk, he saw irrational fear, and where others saw collapse, he saw a rare window of opportunity.
That wartime bet paid off….big time!
Within four years, he quadrupled his money. It wasn’t a lucky trade, it was a reflection of how he thought. Templeton would go on to found the Templeton Growth Fund, delivering an annualized return of 15%+ for nearly four decades. He became one of the most respected global investors in history.
But here’s the part most people miss: his success wasn’t based on prediction, it was rooted in perspective. He didn’t wait for perfect conditions, he didn’t try to outguess the market, he simply knew this: fear is a feature of the market, not a flaw…and when everyone else is losing their head, the best opportunity is often born.
Templeton once said, "Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria." He didn’t chase the crowd. He studied it and acted in contrast to it.
This Past Week: Different Headlines, Same Human Nature
If you’ve been watching the markets this week, you’ve seen the dance firsthand. In Canada, the TSX stumbled early but clawed back gains, lifted by surging energy prices and defensive sectors. In the United States, after three straight down weeks, major indices rebounded strongly….led by resilient tech earnings and a flicker of hope that inflation might be softening. Globally, Europe is preparing for possible rate cuts, China is hinting at new stimulus after sluggish economic numbers, and oil markets are calming after recent tensions.
It’s tempting to read each headline like a verdict. But here’s the truth: markets breathe. They contract and expand. They signal….and they overreact. Just like in Templeton’s time, the real risk isn’t the event, it’s our reaction to it.
2025: A Different Year, but the Same Pattern
We’re not in a world war, but we are in a world of noise. U.S. inflation is sticky and unsettling. Debt levels are rising like the tide. Geopolitical uncertainty continues to blur the horizon. AI, automation, and energy transition are reshaping industries faster than ever. Here in Canada, we’re not immune. But we are uniquely positioned. The world needs food, water, energy, and stable institutions, and Canada offers all four.
And yet, many investors are still frozen. Waiting for the "right time." Reacting to each headline like it's a referendum on their future…but here's the truth: there is no perfect time. There is only your time horizon, and how well you anchor to it.
You don’t need to time the market perfectly; you need to not panic. Crises come and go. They always feel unprecedented, but they rarely are. Fear is often the most expensive emotion an investor can have. Markets are emotional machines, but wealth is built by intention.
Your Wealth Practice for the Week
As we cruise into the week, it’s worth asking yourself a few questions….
What news, voices, and opinions are shaping your outlook? When was the last time you had an emotional reaction to the uncontrollable around you? Does your strategy reflect your life, or your fears? And above all, can you remember that this too shall pass?
Final Thought: It’s Not About Being Fearless. It’s About Being Ready.
You don’t have to be John Templeton…but you can learn from how he thought. He didn’t try to outwit the market, or his plans. He outlasted it. He knew that wealth isn’t just what you have, it’s how you behave when things feel uncertain.
The winds may change, but you can harness them no matter their direction if the focus is on responding, not reacting…whether you’re focused on investing in markets, or investing in your life – keep investing like it’s a craft, not a crisis.
Be well and enjoy the moments,
Derek Henderson