The Personal View
What the war in Eastern Europe means for your portfolio—and what you should and shouldn’t be doing as a result
Any time there is volatility, investors get nervous. There are few events more volatile than a war—especially when one of the combatants is a global superpower.
Be strategic, not reactive
Considering the sale of investment assets during a downturn is almost always an emotional impulse. As we outlined in our last newsletter, overreacting can be a costly mistake. Missing just the best 30 days of S&P 500 performance over the course of fifteen years would have reduced an annualized +10.6% gain to an annualized +4.4% gain (source: BTN Research). Panic selling in response to a crisis will cost you a lot of money in the long run.
Know what you own!
The good news is that Americans who have invested in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have relatively little direct financial exposure to some of the more worrying financial volatility in Russia and “…most people in a 401(k) might have a really tiny exposure to Russian stocks and/or bonds, probably under 1%”—there are a small handful of stock and bond funds with more exposure. It’s a good idea to review that list and, if you determine that your portfolio does have more exposure, to contact your financial advisor to determine how best to proceed.
Don’t panic
Finally, try not to let extreme media headlines skew your perspective. Understand that the corporate media’s job is to make money by having you digest their content. The more extreme your response to their content, the more money they make!
You, however, get paid by long-term results in the market. Don’t overreact to something you hear on TV or read online. If you have a concern, please call us. We will talk you through it and make sure you have the information you need to feel confident about your path forward.
