MIDLOTHIAN, Va. -- Anyone considering their retirement investments knows the stock market has taken a big hit from the coronavirus pandemic
The shutdown of parts of the US and global economies has all the major indexes off by more than twenty percent.
CBS 6's Bill Fitzgerald had a Zoom interview with financial advisor Sandy Wiggins from the Actuarial Consulting Group in Midlothian to find out what it means for all of us as we navigate this difficult financial terrain.
Wiggins points out that fear is a destructive emotion when it comes to handling the ups and down of investing. He says we tend to get caught up in a kind of euphoria when the market keeps rising and may buy stocks at a premium.
Similarly, fear in a down market may find us selling at a loss just to get out as a quickly as possible.
Wiggins showed a graph denoting significantly higher returns (12% to 5%) in an average quarter following a down quarter, than in the average quarter following an up quarter.
His message: stick to your plan. If you are nervously approaching retirement, your investments should already be allocated to accommodate the lower risk level you can tolerate.
