Revenge Investing and the Power of Discipline

From movies to everyday life, revenge stories resonate because they’re about reclaiming control. During the pandemic, that urge surfaced as revenge spending: people splurged after months of restrictions to feel back in charge of their lives.

Now a similar idea is creeping into markets: revenge investing, a desire to put money in the markets and improve their financial position to counter the uncertainty people may be feeling about the current state of the economy. Done right, it can channel the revenge impulse into disciplined saving and investing. Done wrong, it can tip into anxiousness and panic.

Take back control
Like revenge spending, revenge investing attempts to take back control over a situation that causes us anxiety and stress, says Dr. Houyuan Luo, Founder and Clinical Director of Toronto-based MindPeace Psychology. “In lockdown during COVID-19, we lost control of a lot of life decisions, even our mobility,” he explains. “So, when the lockdown was lifted, a lot of people felt like they wanted to regain control.”

With investing, regaining control or revenge can mean adding extra money to savings and investment accounts to try and counter the loss of control some may feel over economic uncertainty that may be making them queasy. Yes, markets have recovered from the big drops we saw around U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, but with other news – like Canada’s recent soft GDP results, showing the economy declined by 1.6 per cent on an annualized basis¹ – it’s hard to know what might happen next.

To Luo, revenge investing could be a natural response for some investors, especially those who might feel as if they they’re underperforming compared to how they perceive others to be doing. Others may see revenge investing as a tactic to boost their net worth to counter a potential job loss or other economic-related issue, he says.

Invest with fundamentals
There’s a fine line, however, between panic investing and revenge investing, says Luo. The former is more impulsive – people who lose money often feel pain of a drop more than a gain,² which can lead them to put money in the market without thinking carefully about the process.

Michael Sherman, RBC’s behavioural economist explains further, “The sweetest revenge in investing isn’t striking back in the moment. It’s resisting fight, flight or freeze — and letting discipline and compounding do the work over time,” he says. Anxiety from fight, flight or freeze instincts can push investors into behaviours that might not be the best choice based on their long term goals. Examples could be selling too quickly during downturns (flight) or engaging in investing above their risk tolerance (fight), explains Sherman.

Revenge investing should be approached with the usual investing principles that most people might follow.³ That means diversifying across geographies, sectors and asset classes, taking a long-term view of your investments, focusing on the fundamentals, such as looking at the health and future prospects of a business you may want to invest in, and sticking to your investment plan.

From a psychological standpoint, Luo agrees: "Don't let emotions drive your investing. The most powerful play isn't to do something at the market immediately, but to stay disciplined, stick to your plan, and let a calm, focused strategy win in the long run."

If you take the time to do your due diligence and choose options that align with your risk tolerance and time horizon, then revenge can be sweet, especially if you your portfolio continues to climb over time.

Sources
^1. _{CBC, "Canadian economy shrinks 1.6% in 2nd quarter as U.S. tariffs squeeze exports", August 2025}
^2. _{Royal Bank of Canada, "Roytrin Investment Update", December 2017}
^3. _{RBC Global Asset Management, "Revisiting the 10 basic truths about investing", 2025}