In this video from our Getting Started series in which JONATHAN HOLLOW answers the common questions faced by first-time investors, we look at what you should do when markets start to tumble.
TRANSCRIPT
If markets tumble, stick to your plan for a few months before you do anything rash. The worst mistake many investors make is using their emotions to control their investment decisions. And often what happens is when markets tumble, they panic and end up selling their investments when they’ve already slumped a long way in value. And that’s the worst time to sell.
If you’ve got a good financial plan, you can use it to control your emotions. In our book, How to Fund the Life You Want, Robin Powell and I devote a whole chapter to this question of how you can successfully manage your emotions when markets are falling all around you.
And we give practical hints and tips. For example, decide what you want to buy or sell. Write it down, put it in an envelope, and then put the envelope away for, say, three months. You open the envelope three months later, you look at your proposed decision and you say to yourself, is it still a good one? Well, if it is, do it because time will have cooled down your emotions.
ABOUT JONATHAN HOLLOW
JONATHAN HOLLOW worked for the UK Government’s Money and Pensions Service and is a writer and commentator on consumer education and protection. He is the co-author, with Robin Powell, of the award-winning book How to Fund the Life You Want, which is published by Bloomsbury.
ALSO IN THIS SERIES
Should you invest in actively managed funds?
What’s the difference between active and passive funds?
What are the fees and charges you need to know about?
FIND A FINANCIAL PLANNER
It’s not essential nowadays to seek professional financial advice before you start to invest, but it is definitely a good idea to do so. We also recommend that everyone has a financial plan.
If you would like us to put you in touch with a financial planner in your area, who shares our evidence-based investment philosophy, just click here and send us your email address, and we’ll see if we can help.
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