This summer, why not take a break from the headlines—or a vacation from your smartphone? Remember, we are here to manage your wealth so you can focus on what truly matters, like spending meaningful time with family and friends. One of our roles is to simplify your financial life so you can focus confidently on other things that matter. We also remain available to support family or friends who may need a fresh perspective, especially after this spring’s events left many feeling unsettled.

Here are six perspectives on how our hyperconnected world may be impacting our investing focus—and why unplugging may be more beneficial than you’d expect:

Shorter Holding Periods Can Hurt Returns — Today, the average holding period for a stock has dropped to around five months, down from nearly eight years in the 1950s.¹ With platforms offering real- time data and near-instant execution, it’s easy to conflate access with insight, which may encourage more frequent trading. Yet, studies continue to show that this comes with costs: the average underperformance by the most active traders annually (versus the U.S. stock market) is around 6.5 percent.²

Technology Drives Impulsive Purchase Decisions — Quite alarmingly, a recent study by NYU Stern researchers found that the median individual investor spends just six minutes researching a stock before buying it online.³ Technology continues to accelerate the speed at which we access, process and react to information—likely encouraging impulsive investor behaviour. Beyond investing, consider this: for every 100-millisecond improvement in load time, Amazon reportedly sees a one percent boost in revenue.⁴ Speedinfluencesbehaviour.

Constant Checking Can Make Us Feel Worse — By one account, the average person checks their phone 352 times a day—about once every 2 minutes and 43 seconds.⁵ Checking portfolios more frequently increases the chance of seeing a loss: daily monitoring of the S&P/TSX Composite Index shows negative performance 48 percent of the time versus just 28 percent when checked annually. Losses tend to feel twice as painful as equivalent gains feel rewarding.

Doomscrolling Amplifies Anxiety — Many of our phone checks lead to news headlines, social media—and “doomscrolling,” a term officially added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2021. Many studies on mental health suggest that reducing screen time, especially doomscrolling, can lead to significant reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms, some within just weeks.⁶

Negative Bias Distorts Investment Perspective — Our brains are hardwired to focus on threats—a survival instinct that makes negative news more attention-grabbing. Media outlets know this and tailor their headlines accordingly. During periods of heightened fear, studies have also found that social media increases herd behaviour among investors. The result? Emotional decision-making that may not serve long-term goals.⁷

It May Also Waste Valuable Time — According to some statistics, the average adult spends about 4 hours and 39 minutes a day on their phone—roughly 70 full days per year.⁸ Over a 60-year adult life, that adds up to nearly 12 years of screen time! Smartphones can support productivity, but if you’ve ever lost an hour to TikTok or Instagram, it’s worth asking: how much of life is being traded for scrolling?

Take a Break From the Headlines — Despite what the headlines suggest, we’re living in one of the most prosperous times in history—life expectancy and wealth are at highs; poverty, child mortality and violence are at multi-decade lows. Innovation continues to shape a world with more opportunities than ever. While challenges remain, it’s worth remembering that progress often unfolds quietly—far from the spotlight of daily news cycles.

In a world that is constantly connected, why not consider unplugging? We are here to support your longer-term wealth plan, built to do the heavy lifting—freeing you to focus your time and attention on what matters most. Wishing you a wonderful summer!

<sup>1. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-decline-of-long-term-investing/;
2. https://www.cfainstitute.org/-/media/documents/support/future-finance/avoiding-common-investor-mistakes.pdf;
3. https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/buying-stocks-research-study-2a839a4a;
4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/11/10/why-brands-are-fighting-over-milliseconds/;
5. https://www.asurion.com/connect/news/tech-usage/;
6. https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-025-03944-z; https://www.researchprotocols.org/2024/1/e53756/;
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1059056023001326;
8. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1045353/mobile-device-daily-usage-time-in-the-us/</sup>

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