The Dow dropped 603 points on Friday, a 2% decline for January’s final session, still leaving the index priced at over 28,000. Because of the record highs in almost every index, specifically the Dow Jones Industrial Averages (DJIA), a 600 point stock market does not have the same destructive punch as it may have in the past, or so we are told.
Okay, fair enough. We all jitter when we see these days but we also understand the market will come back around at some point in the future.
But if you are retired, and your target or desired rate of return is 8% for the year, and you are in still heavily in equities, one session may have just wiped away 25% of your target return if the losses hold for the year.
It may be true that time heals all wounds, but when you’re retired, you need to heal more quickly than you ever have, so don’t let the percentages lead you astray. Put more thought into diversifying among various asset classes and establish the proper portfolio allocation to help insulate you from extended declines.