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Volatility returned to start the year, not just in financial markets, but in U.S. policy, driving geopolitical uncertainty amid widening global conflict. Even before recent events, this drove a flight to safety in precious metals, with swings in gold and silver prices, alongside a weakening U.S. dollar.

In many ways, we may be living through a golden age of investing. Lower costs, technological advances and unprecedented access to information make markets more accessible than ever.
Consider how the investing landscape has evolved over the decades. Technology has automated trading systems, drastically lowering transaction costs, increasing access and fuelling trading activity.

In 1896, Washington, DC banned the introduction of cars because they threatened the livelihoods of horses. As The Washington Post reported: “The horse’s occupation, so largely taken away by reason of the use of bicycles, shall not further be displaced by horseless carriage.” Change is hard. History shows it’s difficult to know, in the moment, which changes will reshape the world.

Six minutes: that’s the time the median individual investor spends researching a stock before purchasing it online, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.