The one mistake that turns sensible investors into panic buyers

October 20, 2026 — 2:16pm

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I was working with a private client who had a lump-sum of money available to invest. We’d spent some time getting her clarity on her financial position, adding some structure to her finances, and building her understanding of investing. This gave her some assurance, calmed her nerves and improved her confidence in preparation for investing.

But the money was still sitting there, in her account – uninvested. Despite all the progress, she felt restless: that task was looming over her head, waiting to be ticked off the checklist.

This is something I see in clients a lot: urgency, restlessness, impatience. This feeling of: “I should be further ahead than where I am right now,” or “I’m behind”, or “This is taking too long.”

That’s understandable. There is messaging everywhere that reinforces this: from gloom-and-doom headlines that make you lose sleep at night, to the never-ending comparison one can fall into on social media, so no matter how far you get, it never feels like it’s enough.

Many people are convinced this anxiety is helpful. It’s what motivates you to get things done, to achieve and progress. To some extent, that may be true.

Rich, successful ... now what?........

© Brisbane Times