By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph financial advisor says investors need to pause and think before they do anything in these volatile financial times.
COVID-19 has shaken the national economy, and initially, sent the markets into a freefall.
Nick Gertsema with Gertsema Wealth Advisors says panic does nobody any good.
“My number one tip would be breathe,” Gertsema tells St. Joseph Post. “Take a deep breath. There’s a lot of panic. There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of irrational thinking. But panic and fear are not investment strategies.”
Gertsema doesn’t necessarily say investors should simply stay the course. He says investors need to take a long, hard look at their plan and adjust if necessary. But he says the economy will bounce back, the stock markets will regain their footing, and those who stick to their plan will profit.
Emotions can rise and fall with the Stock Market. Gertsema advises this isn’t the time to give in to your emotions.
“Emotion causes you to do the wrong thing at the wrong time for the wrong reasons,” according to Gertsema. “Sometimes, when you see volatility in the market place, your first thought is I need to make a trade, I need to change something, I need to make an adjustment. And then, sometimes action for the sake of action may be more detrimental to the portfolio than helpful.”
Gertsema says the negative impact COVID-19 restrictions had on the economy rival many past recessions, but adds this economic downturn is different. Gertsema says the 2011 recession was an event-triggered recession.
“What we’re looking at now is different just because with COVID-19, we don’t have a firm understanding of when we’re going to be done with it or the damage that it’s done,” Gertsema says. “I mean, historically, we went from the lowest unemployment in 50 years to the highest unemployment in 80 in roughly two months.”