Last week, we stuck to our process. As always, we ran our rankings at the regular time in the regular way. No drama, no deviation. Then, a few hours later, the world shook—Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Headlines screamed. Markets looked jumpy. And I did what many might do: I picked up the phone and called Wilf.
“Should we rerun the rankings?”
His answer was quick: No. And he was right.
At Beyond ETFs, we don’t chase headlines. Our rankings are based on closing prices of the S&P 100—data that doesn’t change in real time. More importantly, our strategy isn’t built for the chaos of the moment. We’re built for long-term, persistent trends. The ones that play out over weeks and months, not seconds and news flashes.
This discipline isn’t inertia. It’s design. It’s recognition of what we are not—we’re not hedge funds with algorithms coiled like springs, ready to fire off trades in milliseconds. We’re not traders glued to Bloomberg terminals trying to guess the next twist in a geopolitical saga.
We’re retail investors. And that’s not a disadvantage. In fact, when you play the long game with a system that works, it’s a superpower. Reacting emotionally or impulsively to big world events usually leads to mistakes. Waiting, sticking to the process, and letting the strategy work—that’s how you compound returns.
So yes, the world threw a curveball last week. And no, we didn’t flinch. That’s not weakness. That’s strength.
Discipline isn’t just part of the strategy. It is the strategy.