Practical analysis for investment professionals

How to Read Financial News

A portfolio manager once told me that half the research on my desk was a complete waste of time. “Figure out which half is garbage and you’ve just doubled your productivity,” he advised.

His point was that most research is backward-looking rather than predictive. Reading obscure financial information may look and feel like productive work, but most of this content has little chance of leading to better results.

With this in mind, I developed the How to Read Financial News series to help investment professionals optimize their reading and better distinguish the narrative from the noise.

For more on this, don’t miss “How to Read Financial News and Set Aside Our Biases,” my Take 15 Podcast interview with host Lauren Foster.

Robert J. Martorana, CFA


How to Read Financial News: Home Country, Confirmation, and Racial Bias

We all have biases and blind spots, and it helps to listen to people who see things differently.

How to Read Financial News: Coronavirus, Confirmation Bias, and Political Bias

Now more than ever we need to read the news with a clear eye about our emotions and biases.

How to Read Financial News Redux: The Complete Series

How should you approach financial news? Robert J. Martorana, CFA, shares his advice.

How to Read Financial News Redux: Separate the Narrative from the Noise

Sometimes old narratives cast a long shadow and obscure more than they reveal.

How to Read Financial News Redux: Understanding Consensus

Consensus expectations are a logical starting point for putting any financial news into its proper context.

How to Read Financial News Redux: Process Determines Priorities

How is financial news like a crying baby? Robert J. Martorana, CFA, explains.

How to Read Financial News: Tips from Portfolio Managers

Reading obscure financial information may look and feel like productive work, but most of this content has little chance of leading to better results, says Robert Martorana, CFA. So portfolio managers must learn to read fast and quickly detect nonsense.



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