If you listen to the news, you’re probably aware that many people are predicting the stock market might take a dip soon. Warren Buffett, for example, has been warning of a stock market crash since 2018. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest. Eliminate the fear of investing in a nervous market with these tips.
Often bull markets, like the one we have now, are like blinders. Investors begin to believe in the fantasy that the market and our equity investments will always take good care of us and never disappoint. Yet time and time again, bull markets collapse with the most extreme and famous example being the collapse of the bull market in 1929.
Since the recession of 2008, the market has reinforced such fantasies. It has been a bull market for the past ten years with few exceptions, even during the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean the unprecedented stock market growth will last forever.
What’s an investor to do to remain calm, avoid knee-jerk reactions, and prevent emotions from potentially sabotaging all the gains realized in good times by prematurely pulling out of the market when it may not make sense?
Manage Your Emotions
There are certain important relationships which we must understand before we can achieve a consistent degree of success in the world of investing and in the marketplace. The first and foremost of these is that most losses in the marketplace result not from poor trading decisions but rather from emotional and attitudinal causes.
Investing by its very nature is an emotional business. Few investors have the self-knowledge, emotional stamina or self-control to make rational, intelligent and profitable decisions, particularly in times of anxiety and stress.
We can become better and smarter investors by looking at history and developing a sense of perspective. Economic conditions have always fluctuated at previous times of national and global crises, but the underlying strength of the American financial system has always shone through in the long run. Any hardships caused by recent events will not last forever.
Managing anxiety well during volatile times is a competency of successful investors. We all must be reminded from time to time that not making dramatic financial changes during these nervous market times can be a sign of patience and prudence, not cowardice.
Helping your clients get a current sense of control and clarity is not a bad idea. Helping them step back and see what they can realistically, financially and emotionally afford and then make decisions based on thoughtful reflection vs. impulse. In the long-term they will remember your prudent advice and help during such volatile times.
Don’t Believe Everything You See Online
Younger clients in particular are inundated with financial advice on TikTok, Youtube, and other social media outlets. This influx of information has led to questionable financial advice.
Many financial influencers online create their wealth through scamming their followers. They’ll predict to their followers that a certain stock (which they have purchased a lot of) will do good. Their followers will invest in that stock and then the influencer will pull out their own investment, making a generous return at the expense of their followers.
It’s best to steer financial advising clients away from online financial gurus who try to encourage this sort of trading, often with emotional and convincing content.
But it’s not just influencers promoting this idea. Earlier this year, Reddit users teamed together to invest in GameStop and other unprofitable companies as a joke. This messed with the market and artificially drove up stocks which weren’t valuable.
If clients do tend to get financial advice online, remind them to check the advice with a credible source instead of acting on the emotional pleas of influencers.
Overcome Your Fear of the Stock Market
Depending on a client’s Moneymax type, they may fear investing in the stock market. To some people, the stock market is an ambiguous and confusing financial institution and they have no clue where to start.
However, with money mindset work and the counsel of a financial advisor, even the most nervous and fearful clients can invest.
The first step to overcoming these fears is being able to identify your clients’ fears. One way to discover this is to run the Moneymax assessment on all your clients. Moneymax gives you a holistic view of a client’s money personality including traits such as how trustworthy they are with their money, how eager they are to invest, their risk level, and more.
Once you use Moneymax and have your client’s or potential client’s profile, you are able to address their fears about the stock market and create a customized plan to help them get over those fears.
Hold Your Investments
Another modern investing trend is day trading. With the rise of the app Robin Hood and similar companies, anyone can day trade. It’s as easy as playing a game on your phone.
However, trading stocks on a day-to-day basis hardly ever leads to long-term financial success, especially for those without a finance background.
A good rule of thumb to share with clients is that they shouldn’t move their investments for at least a year. Holding investments leads to long term financial success.
If one is constantly acting out of fear and changing their investments whenever a certain stock dips, they will not make a profit. Investing in the stock market is not the place to act out of fear. It’s the place to plan ahead and hold onto your investments even through the natural dips.
Of course, some people might like the risk of trading stocks more frequently. If this is the case with your clients, you could make a plan to help them do this while also allocating other funds for longer term investments.
While we don’t know what the future of the stock market holds and many short-term predictions are ominous, clients can still find success in investing. Managing investments, overcoming stock market fears, only listening to sound advice, and holding your investments are four ways to be a successful investor even in a nervous market.