An old joke goes - a statistician is a person who lays with his head in an oven and his feet in a freezer happily proclaiming “On average, I feel comfortable.”

Taking that example into the investment world, averages seldom reflect actual investor experience.

Lately, financial media have been pushing out opinions from billionaires, banks, investment managers and just about anybody who wants to appear smart, on the breadth, depth and scope of the “upcoming recession”. So what does all of this mean to you and your money?

Whether it is tomorrow or 5 years from now, if you are investing in a way that enables you to capture all available market returns without having to make forecasts, then the threat of a looming recession or job losses or wage decreases or a whole bevy of other worries should not sidetrack you.

Many people would say stocks are risky. However, if properly diversified, risks can be reduced substantially and the probability of stocks giving you gains is as close as guaranteed as your time horizon increases.

Research shows us that the most common outcomes when it comes to investing are either losing everything or multiplying your capital by 9 times. How can we make sure to end up with the latter outcome?

Many investors find high dividend paying strategies very compelling due to the supposed protection or higher returns during turbulent environments. However, are these assumptions aligned with the evidence?

When people think about impending recessions and its effects on the markets, the response is rarely a positive one. But can data provide a case for the silver lining of recessions?

Everyone knows about Warren Buffett as an excellent investor and probably you do too. But if all you’re trying to do is to mimic his investment process, then you are missing the forest for the trees.

You don’t need to invest a lot of capital to make good returns, you just have to do it early. The best time to start investing was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today.

When is the best time to invest? The common refrain would be to wait for the ‘best time’ to put your money to work. But the truth is you don’t need to wait for the best time to still get good results.

In the movie Back to the Future II, Biff travelled back in time to give himself a copy of a sports book which listed the results of every major sporting event for 50 years. How often have we wished we had something similar for investing — would having such an object enable you to invest better though?

Buster Douglas: name that may not be known to many now, but for a moment in time, the entire world knew his name. Overcoming 42 to 1 odds, he knocked out the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson. What odds are you betting in your life?

Markets are a funny animal and has notably risen 10% since our last few articles about bear markets and recession worries. Given what is going on around the world now investment strategists are calling this current market condition a “bear market rally”. So which is it? Bull or Bear?

The lure of successful trading strategies is seductive, and looking at your portfolio shrink in value during a market downturn can be painful. But many times investors seeking to circumvent the pain or trying to get a leg up in their investments by temporarily shifting away from their long-term strategy will end up trading one source of anguish for another.

Usually important headlines and events are delivered straight to your phone’s notification centre — urging you to click on them to read more. But the media, no matter how learned and talented, is not always right, nor has it the ability to definitively predict the future.

Human beings are wired to have emotions — but relying on them to guide decisions may not always pan out. Here are some steps you can take to help you set your emotions aside and build confidence in your investing approach, no matter how the markets are doing.

It seems like every month, the financial industry churns out an endless array of fresh investment options. Amidst the multitude of products, the choices can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, there is a simple process of evaluating their merits, even if the themes or names of these products change.

The stock market has seen its worst start in 50 years — people are asking: Are there more declines coming? What about recession? When’s the best time to invest? Perhaps past events can provide some perspective.