Investing in Changing Markets

It seems like any piece of news can either rattle or encourage stock markets, propelling stock prices to decrease or increase rapidly and giving some investors heartburn as they worry and watch. If you are a long-term investor, you typically don’t need to fret about short-term volatility. But if you can’t help worrying or you have a shorter investment timeframe, consider the following tips to help ease your concerns.

Time is on Your Side

If you are years away from your financial goals, time is plentiful. If you are one of those investors who can’t stop worrying over market performance, take comfort in knowing market volatility is quite common. You may find that most downturns are usually short relative to your investing timeframe and you have the ability to ride out short-term declines.

Regardless of timeframe, never invest in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. While markets ebb and flow, individual securities and those of smaller industries can decline and never return to their former glory, leaving investors with permanent losses. Work with your financial professional to help ensure you have a mix of investments that helps compensate for the poor performance of a few.

Time is Short

Stories abound of investors nearing retirement who had invested too aggressively and needed to continue working to make up for their losses. If you expect to begin taking distributions from your investment accounts soon, you may want to have a more conservative portfolio mix that provides both the security and hedge against inflation you may need.

A more conservative approach may potentially limit losses, as can spreading your risk by diversifying* among and within asset classes. Diversify by asset class by spreading your investment dollars among stock, fixed income and money market asset classes. Diversify within an asset class, for example, by choosing large-cap and small-cap stocks and domestic and international equities.

Your financial professional can help you choose an appropriate investment mix for your risk tolerance and time frame.

*Diversification cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. Past performance won’t guarantee future results. An investment in stocks or mutual funds can result in a loss of principal.