This Week’s Blog Is Written By Scott D. Heins, CFP®, IAG Chief Investment Officer
March 4, 2026

Uncertainty

While the human spirit yearns for adventure in varying doses, most people thrive on predictability and routine.

We prefer not to have to make frequent life-altering decisions on a daily basis. Matter of fact, we prefer not to make decisions at all because they are hard and require focus and energy.

Thus, we naturally develop daily, monthly, and annual routines that don’t require a second thought. We are more than creatures of habit, we are creators of habit.

Our routines give us confidence and an illusion of predictability in an insecure and random world.

The financial markets are no different. They strive for certainty and routine. Traders attempting to predict the future of market movements find that impossible job much easier when the array of potential outcomes is narrower.

Over the weekend, our world added a significant additional layer of uncertainty which traders, thus far as of Tuesday morning, have chosen to ignore.

We quite simply do not know the tenure, challenges, or outcome of the military intervention in Iran. It has the potential to improve the lives of millions of Iranians who have suffered under a brutal regime. It also has the potential to devolve into a military and political quagmire with limited options to escape.

You can expect the financial markets to respond instantly to headlines that vacillate along this spectrum. The ebb and flow could be fear-inducing in the moment.

For long-term investors, the events over the coming weeks will remind us of numerous other geopolitical and military storms that we have seen during our lifetime. We know the uncertainty at some undefined point in the future will fade, the cloud of war will lift, and countries will return to some sense of normalcy and routine.

The key to successfully navigating such turbulent waters is patiently and steadfastly sticking to the time-tested long-term strategies we develop in advance of unpredictable (yet expected) political and market volatility.

The next few weeks will likely be more uncertain than the last few weeks. While the daily events are completely unpredictable, the odds of this conflict impacting your financial well-being for multiple years is quite low.

Continue to pray for positive outcomes, limited casualties, and the creation of new more peaceful routines.

Quote of the week: Morgan Housel: “An important lesson from history is that the long run is usually pretty good and the short run is usually pretty bad. It takes effort to reconcile those two and learn how to manage them with what seem like conflicting skills. Those who can’t usually end up either bitter pessimists or bankrupt optimists.”

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through IAG Wealth Partners, LLC, (IAG) a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

Any opinions are those of IAG and not necessarily those of LPL Financial. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. This information is not intended as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security referred to herein. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

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