The Indiana Hoosiers are national champions… in football. Yes, that Indiana. If I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am typing that sentence today. Congratulations to Hoosier Nation!
Indiana’s improbable run didn’t just produce a trophy, it produced a handful of quips from head coach Curt Cignetti that resonated beyond football. Over the past few weeks, Cignetti’s mindset, priorities, and emphasis on process and fundamentals have stuck with me because they apply just as directly to investing and financial planning as they do to building a championship program. Let’s explore.
Discipline & Process
“I tell my team all the time: the process will take care of the scoreboard.” – Curt Cignetti
Markets reminded investors this week once again that short-term noise is unavoidable. Earlier last week, news out of the White House of a forceful Greenland acquisition and additional tariff threats triggered a sharp 2% broad equity sell-off. A few days later, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump softened his rhetoric on acquiring Greenland and walked back sweeping 10% tariffs across Europe. By Thursday afternoon, the entire sell-off had been retraced leading to another fruitful week of returns for investors.
Daily swings like these are part of the investment process. The critical question is how investors respond. Indiana didn’t win because it had the most talented roster in the country. It won because it made fewer mistakes. Penalties were limited. Assignments were executed. Adjustments were made early, not after problems snowballed. In investing, discipline is the edge most people underestimate. You don’t need to predict every headline, policy shift, or market turn. What you do need is a well-constructed investment allocation and appropriate diversification aligned with your broader financial plan. Great investors focus less on being right and more on avoiding catastrophic mistakes. Indiana’s championship run was built on the same principle: a sound process consistently applied.
Patience Pays
“There are no shortcuts. Winning takes time, discipline, and perseverance.” – Curt Cignetti
National championships aren’t built overnight. From the beginning, Cignetti emphasized patience and consistency over flash. That mindset is especially relevant for investors. One destructive behavior can be abandoning a sound strategy simply because results haven’t appeared yet. Compounding requires time, and time requires patience. Pulling the plug during periods of market stress can lock in losses and forfeit future gains. Indiana’s rise wasn’t about winning every quarter. It was about executing each day correctly, over, and over, until the accumulation of small advantages produced a championship season. Successful investing works the same way. You don’t win by reacting to every data point or market swing. You win by consistently doing the right things even when they feel boring or temporarily unrewarding.
As Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers just proved, championships are rarely won by brilliant individualism alone. They’re won by doing the fundamentals well, day after day, until success becomes inevitable!
Have a great week!
-Matt
Sources: IUHoosiers.com, Tony Dragna, YCharts
This communication and its contents are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be used as the sole basis for any investment decision. The information contained herein is based on publicly available sources believed to be reliable but is not a representation, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or correctness of said information. References to political figures or policies are for informational purposes only and do not represent an endorsement by Waddell & Associates. Any forward-looking statements reflect current opinions and assumptions and are subject to change without notice; actual results may differ materially. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Waddell & Associates may use artificial intelligence tools to help generate or summarize content; all outputs are reviewed by our team for accuracy and relevance.
