The statistics are staggering. Historical single day losses. Historical single day gains. Multiple days of losses without more than a day’s reprieve. Markets down nearly 20% in under three weeks. Volatility is back with a vengeance.
What are you to do?
- Stay calm. We’ve been here before. We’ll be here again. A level of stability, as well as previous values, will return. Stick with your financial plan; it’s been designed with this in mind.
- Remember that you can’t time the market. Getting in and out of the markets based on yesterday’s results or what you expect to happen tomorrow is a formula for long-term failure. It’s been shown time and again that you can’t time the market, and exiting the market, even periodically, may result in lower long-term gains.
- Buy the dip! SALE! SALE! SALE! When the markets go down, buy what’s low to improve long-term gains; it’s on sale! Do this by investing available cash or by moving money from more stable investments into those that have fallen the farthest.
- Minimize withdrawals. When you withdraw money from investments that are down, you amplify the loss and hurt longer-term values.
- Use Balance Financial’s Three Bucket Retirement Income Strategy. The strategy was developed exactly for times like this and may help to protect your retirement income while investment values are lower.
- Talk to a financial advisor. Financial questions are easy to handle when things are good; but when times are tough, excellent financial advice can help you manage the current situation and improve your longer-term position. We’re here to help. Call or email us for more information.
