Earlier this week, I had dinner with three women I have known from childhood. Somehow, we brought up the topic of retirement, which led to a conversation about investing. One of the women said her husband wanted to withdraw all of their money from investment accounts because he was sure the market was about to collapse.
Making an informed decision about what is likely to happen to your investments requires black and white information, unstained by anxiety or fear. The more precise information you have, the better equipped you are to make rational and balanced decisions. Here is some information to help you move away from fear and make informed decisions.
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What happens to your brokerage account if the market collapses?
If you have a diversified portfolio, it is possible that some of your investments will not be affected, although others will lose value. That’s why it’s so important not to put all of your financial eggs in one basket. The more you diversify the sectors in which you invest – and the types of investments in which you invest – the better your chances of coming out of a crash reasonably unscathed. While some sectors decline, others may hold up or even make gains.
Let’s say you bought 100 shares of Company A at $ 20 per share. Your investment is worth $ 2,000. If the stock price drops to $ 10 per share, your investment is suddenly worth $ 1,000. But you really haven’t lost anything. You only lose money if you sell at this point. If it appears that Company A is going through a rough patch and will recover, you can masquerade as a bandit by buying more shares while the price is low.
Will a crash impact your brokerage account? Probably, but as long as you invest in solid companies and plan to weather the natural ups and downs of the market, there is nothing to be afraid of.
What if your brokerage firm goes bankrupt?
If things go wrong and your brokerage firm goes out of business, you have government-provided insurance to help you get your assets back. Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) will cover up to $ 500,000 in securities or $ 250,000 in cash held in a brokerage firm.
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It is important to know that brokerage firms expect and plan for market downturns. In addition, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission net capital rule requires every brokerage firm to maintain a minimum amount of liquid capital. And the customer protection rule requires them to keep your assets in an account separate from the company’s assets. Finally, all brokers registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 must be members of the SIPC.
Brokerage failures are extremely rare. However, if this happens, SIPC will attempt to recover the value of your account at the time of failure. The SIPC is working to recover the number of shares you held. If the investment has lost value during the brokerage’s closing period, SIPC will not refund the lost funds.
How to know when the stock market is crashing
The ebb and flow are part of what makes the market work. Think about the last time you got on a plane. Do you remember the plane that fell a bit before being pushed back, like an invisible hand? The same airflow that makes nervous passengers grab their armrests is what keeps the plane in the air. The market is like that airplane, being pushed up and down by activity beyond your control.
There is no set threshold for a stock market crash. However, when there is a sharp double-digit drop in a stock index over a short period of time, people tend to call it a crash. Quick reminder: The stock index is a tool that helps investors calculate market performance by comparing current price levels with past prices.
So when that stock index dips, investors do one of two things: panic and sell (which causes the market to dive deeper), or they calmly buy newly discounted stocks, knowing that they will have money. money ahead when the market rebounds.
Is a stock market crash inevitable?
The stock market could collapse again at some point. If so, it will join the stock market crashes of 1929, 1987, 2008 and the so-called “flash crash” of 2010.
While there are now more laws in place to help prevent another crash, it may be best to assume that another will happen anyway. Here’s why:
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- You can make a plan. Are you going to get what you can of your money and hide it if the market collapses, or will you let it go until the market recovers?
- You can face your fears of losing money. When you are able to remove fear from the equation, you may notice trends or find other options. For example, when prices are low, you can afford to buy more stocks.
- You can find new opportunities. The market has always recovered, even after serious crashes. You might think the market will never come back and you will lose everything, but embracing this idea comes at a cost. If you invest when prices are low, you could end up with a larger portfolio when the rally starts.
A wise investor knows that some years will be better than others. Over the 30 years between 1991 and 2020, the S&P 500’s annual rate of return was 10.7%, according to data from MoneyChimp. Adjusted for inflation, the real rate of return was 8.3%. When you consider the number of crashes that have occurred over the years, it is impressive how well the stock market has performed over the long term.
Making money over the long haul is the name of the game. From the moment you open a brokerage account until the day you start withdrawing funds, it’s all about making your money grow.
