Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®
The year 2022 was a historically volatile market, with returns in both the stock and bond indexes ending in negative territory for the first time in many years. While 2023 has been positive year-to-date, we are not without continued volatility and concerns, including a possible recession, tax uncertainties, inflationary concerns, and the continuing military tensions abroad in Russia and Ukraine, amongst others.
I have a more significant number than normal of clients and prospective clients that seem "stuck" when it comes to making decisions about their money and investments in this market environment, almost appearing paralyzed by fear. The concern is that there could be greater harm in not doing anything in these situations than doing something. Let me explain.
The first situation is clients sitting in cash because that is where they feel their money is "safest." With these clients, as interest rates have begun to rise, they may still have cash sitting in bank accounts earning little to no interest and essentially "losing" buying power, as these dollars cannot possibly keep up with rising costs. Certainly, when markets are volatile, wanting to protect your hard-earned dollars from loss can be a top priority. However, not taking advantage of the rising interest rates on things like money markets, U.S. Treasuries, CDs, and instruments that can help earn extra interest on cash can harm a financial plan's long-term success. A commitment to slowly getting back into the market with a small amount of cash (via a dollar-cost-averaging strategy) can be a great way to ease someone back into a more traditional portfolio allocation once markets become more stable. In doing so, clients can get back on track to keep up with the returns they need to meet their long-term financial goals.
The second situation is clients who were relatively aggressive in their investment accounts prior to 2022 (i.e., in their former employer 401k accounts), and now that their accounts are down, they are afraid to make any changes in the portfolio allocations "until" the market comes back. Again, this is an example of seeming paralyzed by fear. It could take many years for the current account to come back, and the question is, are we in the right allocation for your current situation to be leaving it there? If not, perhaps it is better to move on and reallocate to a more appropriate allocation, or if appropriate, roll the 401k over to an IRA and have someone more actively watch it for you on an ongoing basis.
Positive markets are indeed much easier to invest in and to make decisions around. However, when we have volatile markets, we cannot get stuck and be paralyzed by fear, causing our financial plans to fail in the long run. If you or someone you know is feeling stuck and needs to talk to someone about options, please reach out to one of our financial planners for a conversation. We are always happy to help!
Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.
The information contained in this letter does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Sandra D. Adams, CFP®, and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expression of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statement, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected, including diversification and asset allocation. Individual investor’s results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Rebalancing a non-retirement account could be a taxable event that may increase your tax liability.
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