Is Panic the Best Reaction to a Drop in the Market?

Is Panic the Best Reaction to a Drop in the Market?

By Douglas Goldstein, CFP®

As an investment advisor who helps olim manage their American brokerage accounts, I’m often asked, “Why should I invest in the stock market when it only goes down?” 

If you believe that the stock market only goes down, then putting your money in stocks is a big mistake. The people who tend to make money in the stock market aren’t investing for the short term. They realize the market can, and sometimes does, drop, but their long-term time frame allows for plenty of opportunity for the market to recover. If you’re trying to grow your wealth and believe that the economy will strengthen, the stock market offers many possibilities. Remember: “possibilities” does not mean guaranteed gains; it includes the very real chance of loss.

Folks who can’t tolerate volatility should avoid the market. This doesn’t mean that you have to panic, sell everything, and bury your treasure in your backyard. There are investing opportunities that aren’t based on stocks that may be appropriate for those with a lower risk tolerance.

One trick to avoid panic

A well-diversified portfolio is in a better position to weather market drops. If you only invest in a few stocks and those sectors are weak, your losses will be larger than if your investments were spread out among more sectors/stocks. Diversification is a good tool for mitigating risk, and allows those who otherwise may have a lower risk tolerance to stay invested in the market.

The most popular tools

Common investment tools for diversifying risk include using mutual funds, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and money managers. Some of these approaches follow a “low volatility” model that can help to protect you on the downside, though they do not actually eliminating risk. Other tools can actually leverage your investment, making a move even faster than the market. If you bet in the right direction, that can be great. But beware… leveraged funds will drop faster than the market if it falls. Make sure you speak with a qualified investment advisor before doing any investing.

To find out more about some of the different tools that people use to invest both using stocks and other tools (bonds, bond funds, etc.) watch the videos at www.Profile-Financial.com/FAQ-videos.

Douglas Goldstein, CFP®, is the director of Profile Investment Services, Ltd. www.profile-financial.com. He is a licensed financial professional both in the U.S, and Israel. Call (02) 624-2788 for a consultation about handling your U.S. investments from Israel. Securities offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not those of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.