For almost all of history there was very little information. Today there is far too much.
Most people assume that access to more information makes good financial decision making easier, but the opposite tends to be true. As wealth grows, the volume of information coming at you increases from articles, opinions, market commentary, advice from friends and news cycles.
Accepting that the environment we live in is very noisy, having a plan and a vision for the future goes a long way towards dealing with the information overload.
Why does more wealth create more financial noise?
Because more is at stake.
When you have meaningful assets, you become a target for every opinion, product, and prediction in the market. None of this is necessarily malicious and some of it is genuinely well-intentioned. That said, the cumulative effect is the same: a constant low-grade pressure that something requires your attention right now.
That feeling of always being “on” is a significant problem. It does not help anyone make good decisions.
The cost of poor decisions can be very high. For example, in its 2025 study, DALBAR found that the average equity investor earned 16.54% in 2024, underperforming the S&P 500’s 25.02% return by 8.48%. This underperformance is attributed primarily to behavioural factors, such as withdrawing funds before market surges, rather than market conditions themselves.
How do successful families filter financial information in Canada?
Ask: What game am I playing?
One of the things Kluge Wealth spends a lot of time doing with clients is helping them to develop and understand an answer to this question.
Asking “what game am I playing” focuses your thought process on questions such as: Does this affect my goals? Does this affect my family? Does this matter given where I am in my life and what I am trying to build?
Almost all information and most insight fails the “what game am I playing test” immediately. A prediction about the liquidity of the repo market may fill a segment on financial TV but has no value to a retired Calgary professional with a diversified portfolio. A commentary on U.S. small-cap equities means nothing to a family whose portfolio is structured around Canadian equities and fixed income. Relevant to someone does not mean relevant to you.
The filter is about engaging with the world with precision. Knowing exactly what you are trying to accomplish makes it immediately obvious which information matters and which does not.
What is the difference between information and insight?
Information is everywhere. Insight is rare. Insight you need to pay attention to is rarer still.
A news headline that says markets fell 2% today is information. The question of whether that move affects your plan at all, given your time horizon, health, your allocation, and the cash reserves already built into your portfolio, is insight. The headline is freely available. Insight requires context.
Most financial commentary delivers information. Very little of it tells you whether what happened has any bearing on your specific situation. The gap between the information and what is relevant for you is where a lot of financial anxiety comes from.
What role do values play in financial decision making?
Values help you form the answer to “what game am I playing”
If you know what you value (e.g. security for your family, play, achievement, legacy, education) then evaluating any piece of financial information becomes straightforward. Either it serves your ends or it does not.
That is simple but it is not easy because the financial “noise machine” is very good at making unrelated information feel urgent and relevant. Values are what keep you anchored to the game you are playing rather than the one someone else wants you to think you should be playing.
The clients who make the best decisions over time are not the ones who consume the most information. They are the ones who are clearest about what they are trying to accomplish. Everything else follows from that.
If you find yourself pulled in too many directions, wondering which articles to trust, which conversations to act on, which predictions to take seriously, that is worth a conversation. Clarity about what you are building tends to make almost everything else easier.
Reach out any time.
Conrad Kluge CFA, CFP®, Senior Wealth Advisor, Senior Portfolio Manager, leads the Kluge Wealth Advisory Group and is a financial advisor at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, working with high-net-worth families in Calgary, Alberta. This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please consult with a qualified financial professional regarding your specific situation.