How successful investors navigate stock market volatility
- Wayne Jordan
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
One year ago today (4/21/2025), market volatility dominated the headlines in The Wall Street Journal.
Investors were grappling with stock market swings driven by new, significantly higher tariffs on major trading partners.
At the same time, President Trump and Jerome Powell were clashing publicly, raising concerns that Powell could be removed from his position.
The Dow Jones dropped nearly 1,000 points.
During that period, we received a wave of questions:
Should I sell out of stocks?
Should I move to cash, bonds, or money markets?
Moments of market volatility like these are where financial advice matters most.
Coaching clients through market volatility is one of our most important roles. It’s also a key reason many clients choose to work with us. We don’t give blanket answers. We evaluate each situation based on factors like:
How close are they to retirement or needing portfolio withdrawals?
How flexible is their retirement timeline?
How stable is their income given economic uncertainty?
How aggressive is their current investment allocation?
Do they already have sufficient bonds or cash to weather a downturn?
How many months of spending are set aside in safe assets?
What type of bonds do they hold—short-term, high-quality, or high-yield?
Now, fast forward to today.
Staying invested and avoiding reactive decisions proved to be the right move.
From 4/21/2025 to 4/21/2026 the DJIA returned 28%.
The S&P 500? Oh just a 37% return.
If you need help navigating market volatility and want more than a one-size-fits-all “investment committee” answer, give us a call. Our clients receive personalized advice built around the full scope of their financial lives.
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