3 useful investing lessons you might learn from Fantasy Football

On Friday 11 August 2023, defending champions Manchester City kicked off the 2023/24 Premier League season with a 3-0 away win over Burnley. It also signalled the start of the 2023/24 Fantasy Football season.

The popular game is relatively simple. Each player is given a budget of £100 million to build a squad of 15 players selected from the players registered across 20 Premier League clubs. 

The aim is to pick a team of players who will register the most points for your team each week. Points are assigned based on a player’s “real life” performance for their clubs and can be given for a range of criteria, such as goals scored, assists, or clean sheets. 

You can opt to trade players each week and make changes to your lineup, all in the pursuit of having the most points come the season’s end. 

It is easy enough to see the basic similarities between Fantasy Football and investing, but the lessons that can be learned are far from superficial. Here are three you might want to keep in mind.

1. Once you’ve made your choices, show confidence in them – try not to panic and tinker

After some deliberating, you’ll likely settle on your Fantasy Football squad, whether it’s prior to the season kicking off in August or if you’re joining a few games into September. 

You might have spent considerable time researching your options, whether it be reviewing a player or club’s:

• Past performance
• Cost
• Forthcoming challenges and fixtures.

For whatever reason, you’ve made these choices – now is the time to stick by them and show faith in your decision-making.

A lot of Fantasy Football managers are prone to panic after a bad game week in which some of their players underperform. It could prompt them to tinker with their team and make wholesale changes. However, this could be a mistake, just as it might be in the world of investing.

In the investment world, it is important to remember that you’re unlikely to be able to predict the market. Yet, you can make informed decisions that take into consideration historical trends and future forecasts to help guide your portfolio towards positive returns.

If the market dips, which is likely to happen from time to time, it can be easy to panic and want to make changes to your portfolio, such as selling off investments. 

You might succumb to a psychological bias known as “loss aversion”, which could elicit emotional choices that aren’t in your best interests. 

Read more: 3 harmful investing biases that Pantone’s colour of the year can teach you about

In Fantasy Football, transferring in and out multiple players each week could be costly and result in a points deduction. In investing, an overly active approach, involving constant changes to your portfolio, could rack up associated fees. 

It could also remove the possibility of benefiting if your carefully chosen investments eventually rebound from any short-term dips, which could be the case as markets typically recover over the long term.

Remember: you’ve chosen these investments (or players), so have patience and give them time to perform.

2. It is important to schedule regular reviews to see if tweaks are needed

In keeping up with the variety of things going on in your life, it can be very easy to fall behind on managing your Fantasy Football team. You might switch off for a few weeks at a time and forget to select your starting lineup, pick a captain, or make necessary changes.

Now, that by no means implies your team’s performance will suddenly collapse in your absence. In fact, some players, such as Erling Haaland, are selected for the long term and are expected to perform all season long. 

However, checking in on your team at regular intervals could allow you to make necessary tweaks to ensure your side continues to pick up points over the long run and avoids any unexpected issues. This might be because:

• Injuries rule your players out
• Your player is suspended
• A player is transferred out of the league and is no longer eligible 
• Your players fall out of form.

Remember: You should try to avoid tinkering too much or making reactionary decisions, whether it involves your Fantasy Football team or your investments. 

However, if and when changes are required, a regular review could ensure you’re up to speed on the situation and make choices that serve your long-term best interests. This holds true for investing as much as Fantasy Football.

When working towards financial goals, regular reviews are vital. Meeting with your planner as your circumstances or plans change, or to make tweaks in response to wider economic issues, can help you stay on track to achieve a positive outcome.

3. Investing, like Fantasy Football, might benefit from a medium to long-term outlook

As mentioned, investment values can ebb and flow in the short term. You might have a difficult week, but it is important not to worry too much. 

In Fantasy Football, you’re unlikely to have selected your squad with just one game week in mind. You’ll have reviewed the fixtures ahead and found the right mix to tackle the medium term, which might involve five or six game weeks at a time. 

For example, you might select players from a team who has a kind fixture list over the forthcoming couple of months. You may expect these players to perform well and deliver points for your fantasy team. 

The same can be said of investments. Focusing on the medium or long term could best serve your investment’s performance. 

It doesn’t mean you don’t have the option to make small changes or alterations along the way. But rather it draws your focus onto reviewing, adapting, and persevering towards your final destination. 

It could be a successful Fantasy Football season, which you can hold over your friends’ heads, or generating the kind of growth needed to unlock your dream lifestyle and service your retirement needs. 

Get in touch

If you are unsure how to best view your investments, it might be worth reaching out for a conversation.

It might involve discussing how your investment goals fit into your greater financial plans and how they factor in short-, medium- and long-term challenges and goals.

A good first step could be to get in touch by email at mail@delaunaywealth.com or by calling 0345 505 3500.

Please note

This article is no substitute for financial advice and should not be treated as such. To determine the best course of action for your individual circumstances, please contact us.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.