How to invest in chaotic markets

In so far as it dissuades the nervous from panic-selling right after a big drop, such advice is sensible, even if the investment platforms dispensing it are hardly acting out of altruism. “It’s about time in the market, not timing the market” is a mantra with particular appeal to those who charge fees in proportion to the time their clients spend in the market, after all. Yet the idea that doing nothing is the only proper response to volatility is also deeply unsatisfying—so much so that it stretches credulity. Everyone knows that markets can overreact, and that wild swings in prices may be caused by technical factors rather than changes to economic fundamentals. That does not mean they convey no useful information at all.