Shawn O'Malley – Geopolitics Can Take Your Investment to Zero

<p><strong>BIO: </strong>Shawn O’Malley is the chief editor and writer of the We Study Markets newsletter from The Investor’s Podcast Network, the world’s largest stock-investing podcast with over 110 million downloads.</p><p><strong>STORY:</strong> Shawn wanted to hedge inflation during the COVID pandemic, so he invested in the Russian ETF at the end of 2021. The ETF performed well, and Shawn was happy. Then rumors of Russia invading Ukraine started. The invasion happened in February, and the Russian ETF stopped trading, taking Shawn’s investment to zero.</p><p><strong>LEARNING:</strong> Understand how geopolitical events and domestic politics affect investments. You won’t be compensated for lack of knowledge.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><blockquote class="ql-align-center"><strong>“Investing is all about continuous learning and getting comfortable with the risks that we take.”</strong></blockquote><blockquote class="ql-align-center">Shawn O’Malley</blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Guest profile</h2><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-omalley/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Shawn O’Malley</strong></a> is the chief editor and writer of the <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/newsletters/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Study Markets newsletter</a> from <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/#home-podcast-shows" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Investor’s Podcast Network</a>, which is the world’s largest stock-investing podcast with over 110 million downloads.</p><p>He writes for an audience of over 30,000 readers daily, breaking down the most important stories in financial markets with longer write-ups exploring financial history, the economics behind everyday life, and insights from legendary investors.</p><p>Shawn hopes to help keep people informed about current news while adding the perspective of a long-term investor.</p><h2>Worst investment ever</h2><p>In April 2020, Shawn was sent home from school because of the COVID lockdowns. He was a junior in colleg