What Investors Can – And Can't – Control

As an investor, you can easily feel frustrated to see short-term drops in your investment statements. But while you cannot control the market, you may find it helpful to review the factors you can control.

Many forces affect the financial markets, including geopolitical events, corporate profits and interest rate movements – forces beyond the control of most individual investors.

In any case, it’s important to focus on the things you can control, such as these:

• Your ability to define your goals – One area in which you have total control is your ability to define your goals. Like most people,...