Inflation, war, market whiplash: How retirees can manage in volatile times

Daniel was mentioned in a MarketWatch post:

"For those who have planned well — they have a balanced portfolio and a cash cushion — the fears are likely mild, minimal, or nonexistent. For the rest, the best strategy is to avoid impulsivity, says Daniel Lee, director of financial planning and advice at BrightPlan, a financial wellness benefit provider based in San Jose, Calif.

For example, when the market dropped close to 30% in March of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, some people panicked. “They sold everything,” Lee says. “In 2020, say you had $1 million in a 401(k) and it dropped 30%. If you sold, you had $700,000. “It was a $300,000 mistake,” he says. In this case, “they were retired and in their 60s. You just hear that all the time,” he says.

For the past decade, the market has been strong, generating double-digit gains for many. Some were aggressively invested, 100% in stocks, for example, “trying to squeeze every little bit out of stock market returns, ahead of a down market,” Lee says. “And they don’t have any cash on hand.”"

Read the full article at the MarketWatch.