Why the Smartest Investors Worry When Markets Get Too Quiet

If investing lately feels like vibes, panic, and one scary chart on your screen, this Capital & Power episode is your wake-up call. Adam Shapiro sits down with Justin deTray to talk about something most market content avoids: how people actually survive markets long enough to make real money. No crystal balls. No “next big trade.” Just how not to blow yourself up when things get loud.

Justin isn’t a talking-head strategist. He’s in the trenches. He manages money when markets fall apart, when volatility spikes, and when investors are tempted to do exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. That’s why his message lands: fancy strategies don’t matter nearly as much as behavior. His core belief is simple—humility beats confidence every time. If you don’t have a real edge, diversification isn’t optional, it’s how you stay in the game. And if you think you’ve found the obvious AI winner, he asks the question most people avoid: if it’s so obvious, why isn’t everyone already paying for it?

One of the best moments in the episode flips a common misconception on its head. Diversification isn’t about being boring—it’s about not panic-selling at the bottom. Justin calls it the “sleep-at-night portfolio.” The goal isn’t elegance or optimization; it’s durability. Volatility isn’t the enemy—it’s the price you pay for long-term gains. The real risk isn’t your portfolio being down 15%—it’s something going to zero. As he puts it, the S&P 500 only goes to zero if we’re dealing with an extinction-level event. Everything else? Noise.

And here’s the part that really messes with people’s instincts: Justin actually likes volatility. He says he wouldn’t get rid of it even if he could, because without volatility, you don’t get 8–12% compounding returns over decades. What actually worries him isn’t chaos—it’s calm. When markets get too quiet for too long, that’s when risk quietly builds. Comfort, not fear, is often the real danger.

He also takes aim at one of the most hyped ideas in portfolios right now: private credit. His logic is brutally simple. If something promises stock-like returns with bond-like risk, his internal alarm goes off. Add illiquidity, and for most investors, it’s a hard pass. Just because risk hasn’t shown up yet doesn’t mean it isn’t there—it just means it’s waiting.

Justin wraps with advice that feels almost rebellious in today’s market culture: stop consuming so much noise. The internet didn’t just give us more information—it gave us more chances to make bad decisions. His solution isn’t a trade or a tactic. It’s mindset. Be optimistic. Trust long-term growth. Stop checking your portfolio every day. Go outside. Touch grass. The market will still be there when you come back.

Bottom line: this Capital & Power episode isn’t about guessing what happens next—it’s about not getting shaken out before it does. If your investment plan depends on headlines behaving themselves, Justin deTray is exactly the voice you should be listening to right now.