Don't Let Market Volatility Derail Your Investment Strategy

The last few months have been difficult ones for investors. From early October 2007, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its all-time high, through late August, stocks have fallen almost 20 percent — which is near "bear market" territory. So, at this point, you probably have at least two big questions: What's causing this market instability? And how should you respond?

 Let's start with the first question. What forces have caused the market drop? Here are some of the chief culprits:

 • Gloomy economic news — Leading economic indicators suggest a significant slowdown in growth. For example, the unemployment rate hit 5.7 percent in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s an increase of more than one full point in just over a year.  

• Subprime loan crisis — While the subprime loan crisis has faded somewhat from the headlines, it’s still having an impact on the investment scene. First, the problems with subprime loans hit the real estate industry and the financial services industry. But now, the subprime crisis may have spread to the extent that consumers are being forced to pull back from spending.

 • Decline in international stocks — As a huge part of the global economy, the United States is far from immune to what's happening in foreign stock markets — and many of these markets are down between 20 and 30 percent over the past several months.

So, in a nutshell, these factors have helped lead to the stock market decline. Yet, as an investor, you may have opportunities right now, because many stocks have already fallen 25 or 30 percent. And the decline in stock prices has also meant a drop in the ratio of share prices to company earnings ("P/E"). In fact, right now, the price-to-earnings ratio is pretty low, by recent historical standards.

In plain English, this means that stocks are now relatively "inexpensive." And yet, strangely enough, investors often stay away from the market when stocks are valued attractively, and only jump in when it's more expensive to buy.

Consider this quote from Warren Buffet, perhaps the world's most famous investor: "Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well. The dumbest reason in the world to buy a stock is because it's going up."

So, if you have room in your portfolio to add appropriate investments, look for those opportunities now — but don't buy investments today that you would not want to own in a recession tomorrow. If you are already fully invested, with a diversified mix of quality investments, have the courage to be patient and do nothing. (Keep in mind, though, that diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.)

If you've created a long-term strategy — one that is suitable for your needs, goals, risk tolerance and time horizon — stick with it. Bad times don't last — but smart investors do.   

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.