What Is A Fiduciary?

Have you ever noticed when you turn on the news, the media is either panicked because the markets are down or celebratory because the markets are up? This may make for fun entertainment, but it can also impact people’s emotions, which are dangerous when they affect investment choices and financial decisions.

While you shouldn’t hide your head in the sand when it comes to the news, there’s a fine balance between staying up-to-date and obsessively following every market change.

The Problem with the News

Many people think watching the news will help them decide what financial or investment decisions to make. The problem with this is that the news is late, especially in terms of investing.

Capital markets efficiently price in all widely known information. As soon as news is available to the public, it becomes reflected in share prices. Therefore, looking at the same things as everyone else doesn’t give you a leg-up on other investors.

Additionally, we know that most news stations have a bias or slant. Many major networks tend to lean either right or left, and this can actually impact the type of actions they suggest in terms of financial decisions. Furthermore, when their guest is the head of a bank or works for a credit card company, you’ll want to be aware that their advice may be biased.

The Information to Turn to Instead

One of the best solutions is to ignore the pundits and spend more time sticking to your personal financial strategies and investment plan. It may sound crazy for me to suggest this, but I’ve found that it helps my clients feel less stressed and less likely to make emotionally driven decisions.

It takes training to tune out the media noise levels and focus on your long term plan. It is tough to do, but with a little coaching, you can feel less stress from media influence and more focused on your plan.

Let Your Advisor Do the Heavy Lifting

While working with a financial advisor is a collaborative approach, requiring work on both ends, it can be helpful to rely on your advisor for staying up-to-date on financial news and investment trends. Part of an advisor’s job is to stay current with financial news and changes in the markets. Your advisor will then suggest changes, if needed, based on your personal goals and needs.

Stick to Financial Wellness Tips

While listening to the news and recommendations of pundits can lead to emotional decision-making, reading general articles and blogs about financial health and wellness can be beneficial, and even motivating. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs out there that share tips on sticking to a budget, savvy ways to save money at the grocery store, and how to find the best credit card rates. These sources of information can help you maintain a healthy outlook regarding money and keep you motivated to stick to your financial goals.

How I Can Help

As an independent advisor, my personal goal is to provide my clients with guidance that can help them understand and better define their financial goals. I stay up-to-date with the latest financial news, trends, and market shifts so my clients don’t have to. I hope to allow them the time to focus on their passions in life knowing I am here proactively monitoring their investments and financial strategies.

To learn more about how I can help you focus less on media noise and more on your passions in life, contact me for a no-strings-attached meeting. We can discuss your goals what strategies can help you pursue them. Call my office at (949) 221-8105 x 2128, or email me at michael.loo@lpl.com.

Starting December 16, 2025, Meta will begin using what you say or ask in Meta AI chats to personalize what you see on Facebook and Instagram.

• Example: If you ask Meta AI for hiking tips, you may start seeing more hiking posts or ads.
• Meta says it will not use AI chats about sensitive topics such as politics, religion, or health.
• Users will begin receiving notifications about this change in October.

What This Means for You

Your social media experience may start to feel more personalized, but it also means Meta will collect and analyze more information about your interests based on your AI conversations.

Possible Risks

• Less Privacy: Your AI chats could influence what ads or posts you see. Even if Meta says it is not reading your full conversations, it is still learning from them.
• Unintended Targeting: You may start seeing ads or content you did not expect, based on what you mentioned to Meta AI.
• Misunderstandings: If the AI misinterprets what you say, it could lead to inaccurate suggestions or assumptions about your interests.
• Data Sharing Concerns: More information about you increases the risk if Meta’s systems are ever compromised or misused.

What You Can Do

You do not have to stop using Meta AI, but you can take steps to control how much it learns from you.

1. Limit what you share with Meta AI.
   Avoid asking personal or sensitive questions.
   Treat AI chats like public posts and do not share anything private.
2. Review your ad preferences.
   Go to Settings → Ads Preferences on Facebook or Instagram.
   Adjust “Ad Topics” and “Activity Used for Ads” to limit personalization.
3. Use the “Why am I seeing this” option.
   Tap the three dots on any ad or post to understand why it was shown and make changes.
4. Turn off AI features where possible.
   You can skip or decline to use Meta AI in searches or chats.
5. Stay alert for prompts.
   Meta will notify users about this update. Take a moment to read the message before clicking “Agree.”

Bottom Line

Meta’s AI is designed to make your social media feed feel more relevant, but it also means the company is using new kinds of data about you. If you use Meta AI, be thoughtful about what you share and take a few minutes to review your privacy settings so you stay in control.