Follow Your Plan

Whether your life is more hectic than usual or market volatility makes you nervous, abandoning a well-considered investment strategy may undermine your plans for your financial future. Review these tried-and-true investing tips before you make a move.

Keep Emotions at Bay

An extended bull market can leave you feeling overly optimistic about future stock values, just as a prolonged bear market may send you fleeing to fixed-income investments. Investment decisions should never be based on emotion. You created your investing plan for a reason. Don’t let an emotional reaction to market swings derail it.

Diversify Your Investments

A diversified* portfolio that spreads your investing dollars across a variety of asset classes, geographical regions and market sectors may help reduce your portfolio’s volatility. Holding a variety of investment types that may react differently to the same market conditions might help cushion your portfolio against major losses.

Forget About Market Timing

Attempting to buy investments when prices are low and sell when they’re high is a strategy that even seasoned investors often can’t execute successfully. Maintaining a diversified portfolio and following your investment plan can help prevent you from selling securities when prices are down and potentially preserving your portfolio’s value.

Moderate Your Risk

Taking too much risk with your investments can put your portfolio’s returns in jeopardy should those risky investments take a nosedive. But taking too little risk may leave you without enough savings to reach your goals. Make sure the amount of risk you take with your investments matches your risk tolerance and investing time frame. Remember, though, as you near retirement, it’s important to reduce your exposure to riskier investments and concentrate on preserving gains while still holding some assets that can outpace inflation.

*Diversification cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. Past performance won’t guarantee future results. An investment in stocks or mutual funds can result in a loss of principal.