This weekend, my daughter, Kai and her teammates were in Quakertown, Pennsylvania for the Southeast Regional Girls High School Wrestling Tournament. My wife, Katie and I were there too. And I will tell you something honestly.

Our anxiety was through the roof.

Katie described it as a visceral wave of emotion unlike anything she had felt before. For me, I was a complete mess. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just internally twisted. I could not even pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it was the lack of control. Maybe it was knowing how much work had gone into the season. Maybe it was the reality that one match can change everything, or so you think.

There is nothing you can do as a parent once they step on the mat.

We are getting better at not interfering. We did not over talk wrestling during the week. We did not dump our anxiety onto Kai. We did not pretend our analysis would change the outcome. Yes, we still study brackets. Yes, we look at past opponents. We cannot help ourselves. But we do not share all of that with her. Deep down we know our over analysis will not swing a single takedown.

As we were preparing for Sunday’s matches, watching the weather reports call for another East Coast snowstorm, I received a message from a client about the weekend court ruling on tariffs.

No more Trump era tariffs. Possible repayment. Markets seemed not to care. Then Monday hit and markets moved. Now do we care. Should we do something.

Standing in a high school gym with snow approaching and brackets shifting in real time, the parallels hit me hard.

Investors feel exactly what we felt in those stands.

Anxiety.
Changing events.
Calls you do not like.
A sense of no control.

Volatility is rarely about one headline. Tariffs are just one variable in a much larger environment that includes Federal Reserve policy, interest rate expectations, artificial intelligence disruption, oil prices, currency strength, and global tensions. The tariff ruling adds another layer of uncertainty, and uncertainty affects animal spirits. But when has the market ever been certain.

This is not simply a tariff story. It is a repricing story.

Last year was clearly the year of AI stocks. This year appears to be shaping up as the year of companies that benefit from AI. There is a difference. The market is sorting out winners and losers in real time. Some sectors correct. Others rotate into leadership. That is not dysfunction. That is what markets do.

Despite the noise, the data tells a more measured story. The S&P 500 recently posted its best weekly gain since early January at roughly one percent. The Nasdaq was up similarly. Small and mid cap stocks gained between seven tenths and one percent. Treasury yields moved higher as traders reset expectations for rate cuts, with March likely off the table. Oil rose on geopolitical tensions. The dollar strengthened. Bitcoin pulled back sharply.

Capital is reallocating. It is not collapsing.

From a portfolio perspective, diversification is doing exactly what it is designed to do. While the S &P 500 is up modestly year to date, several of our international and small cap allocations are up meaningfully more, in the high single digits to low teens. Fixed income has added stability with modest positive returns. The headlines often feel worse than the lived experience of a diversified portfolio.

So should we do anything?

No.

We do not build portfolios around tariff headlines. We build portfolios around earnings power, competitive advantages, valuation discipline, risk management, and thoughtful diversification. We do not chase last year’s winners. We do not dump assets because of one court ruling. We do not attempt to time Federal Reserve meetings.

Volatility does not mean something is broken. It means something is being recalibrated.

And here is where wrestling hit me between the eyes.

If I would just take the same advice I give anxious investors and apply it to myself in the stands, I might have enjoyed the weekend more.

Stay steady.
Do not overreact to short term news.
Stick to the plan.
Do not predict. Prepare.
Execute.
Bounce back from losses.
See every downside as a potential setup for growth.

There are so many overlaps between investing and time on the mat.

Some girls went home this weekend and will not wrestle in Hershey. That was Kai last year. It was heartbreaking. It was not fun. But it was also a catalyst. A full year of hard training followed. Early mornings. Extra drilling. Tough matches. Learning how to handle losing.

It paid off.

The road this weekend was not straight. Kai had to go down with a loss before pulling herself together. She fought back for third place. She beat the same wrestler who had beaten her earlier in the day. It was anything but smooth. It was gritty. It was emotional. It was earned.

Kai and two of her teammates are now headed to the state tournament in Hershey on March 5-7th.

There is only one state champion in each weight class in Pennsylvania girls wrestling. But every girl who stepped on the mat this year is a winner in my book.

The same is true in investing.

There may only be one Warren Buffett. But there can be plenty of successful investors. Even when a freshman comes out of nowhere and knocks off a former champion. Even when a tariff ruling comes down that changes the narrative. Even when markets swing in ways you do not expect due to a volatile AI landscape.

There will always be calls you do not like.

There will always be seasons you wish ended differently.

There will always be another snow storm rolling in.

The key is not avoiding volatility. It is building the strength to endure it.

Keep training.
Keep investing.
Keep showing up.

And congratulations to Kai and her teammates. Hershey awaits. 

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About the Author

Dane Czaplicki, CFA®

Dane Czaplicki is CEO of Members’ Wealth, a boutique wealth management firm that offers a comprehensive approach to serving individuals, families, business owners, and institutions. The firm’s goal is to preserve and grow its clients’ wealth to endure over time, while thoughtfully evolving its strategy to suit an ever-changing world. With over 20 years of wealth management experience, Dane and the Members' Wealth team thrive on bringing clarity and confidence to clients' unique situations. He believes everyone needs sound financial advice from someone whose interests are aligned with theirs, and is determined to put service before all else.

Dane received his MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor’s degree from Bloomsburg University. Outside work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, hiking and camping, reading, running, and playing with his dog. To learn more about Dane, connect with him on LinkedIn.

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