Investing during an unstable market

There are many buzzwords associated with investing, words that, as an investor, you’ll probably get sick of after a while. You can only listen to so much advice telling you to be disciplined when you just got a hot tip that Fidelity Investment’s mutual fund is about to explode. One of those buzzwords that people hate to hear is market volatility. Volatility is a part of investing, plain and simple. If that concept makes you feel queasy, join the club. There have been patterns over the years in the Dow and the Nasdaq where a slow and steady climb happened. Most of the mid to late 1990s saw a slow and steady rise in the markets. The only real blemish on the market during that time was the mini-crash of 1997. Even then, the market showed a gain for the year.

So, how do you cope with market volatility? There are many different strategies that are used, and most of them include investing discipline. Studies have shown that during periods of extreme market volatility, like after the attacks of September 11, the market has rebounded and gone on a bit of a run. A great way to deal with volatility like that is to move some of your money into funds or stocks that might be a little lower risk and focus on blue chip stocks. When you and your broker feel that the market is at or near the bottom, you can invest in technologies or companies that you feel will be in high demand in the near future. Just because the market is doing its best yo-yo impersonation, is no reason to take your money and go home.

Another common practice is known as dollar-cost averaging. This is the practice of waiting until a particular stock that’s going through a rough period and waiting for it to bottom out. While the exact time of a stock bottoming out is unknown, most wait until the stock sets a record low, and then they pour thousands of dollars into that stock. The same technique can be used with the market as a whole. If the Dow is experiencing a series of bad days, some investors with withdraw all their money, wait for the Dow to set a 30 or 60 day low, and then shove everything back in at once. While there is no guarantee of this working, it’s been a common practice recommended by brokers the world over for generations.

Dealing with market volatility isn’t easy, but it is part of investing. If you’re a smart investor, however, market volatility won’t mean the end of your investment.

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