Financial advisor discusses sell-off, uncertainty in stock market
CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Western Massachusetts residents are reacting, especially seniors, when it comes to their retirement accounts amid the recent market conditions.
This is a very challenging time for so many people as they don’t know what will come next. Of course, like everything in life, nothing is guaranteed, but in today’s economic world, people in our area are nervous and options have to be on the table. “We could lose it all and then where does that leave me? I have no way of replacing anything that we’re losing,” said Terry of Chicopee.
Terry, who visits the Rivermills Center, a senior center in the city, has a retirement account, but she is frustrated that some of what she recently had saved there is no more and fears a recession is on the way. “We have no way of remaking our money. That’s why, when we get into these 401k’s and we get into all of these things, they tell us you can’t get aggressive because you can’t make it back and you can’t invest in so many things,” she added.
Outside of the pandemic, the United States has not seen a recession since the late 2000s. All of this anxiety comes amid tariffs on neighboring countries and the stock market experiencing a significant drop for consecutive days. Tony Bastos, a financial advisor at PV Financial Group in Ludlow, said we’re definitely seeing a market sell-off, which drives uncertainty. “I think it’s important for investors to know, during these uncertain times, to remain diversified and having all of their money spread out amongst different asset classes and categories,” he explained.
Bastos said PV Financial has seen an uptick in client meetings when it comes to assessing one’s portfolios, as well as the state of the economy. Should it take a hit, he said, there are ways to prevent yourself from financial harm in the long term. “I would focus in on nest eggs and emergency savings. That’s going to be very, very important. Having liquidity in banks,” he added.
As for Terry, she has a strong message for the Trump Administration as this drama continues. “He should start seeing what the people want instead of what he wants,” she said.
Bastos also advises you focus on having six to 12 months worth of expenses in the bank to get through some uncertainty and he said that should be in combination with the long term approach towards any investments you may have.
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